Dec 10, 2024: Roundtable stakeholder meeting, "Developing Blueprint for Strengthening Surveillance-Alert-Response System" at INSA, Delhi or govt public health authorities, leading scientists and directors, co-organized by ACCESS Health, NCBS, TIGS and RF-APSI. This meeting was a joint dialog for unified efforts towards preemptive measures and novel surveillance strategies for pathogens and AMR with public health authorities, institute directors, govt authorities, NCDC, ICMR, NHM, to discuss blueprint for Surveillance strategies via One Health approach.
The event brought together experts from governments, health technology, academia, civil society, and more to discuss a ‘One Health’ approach for enhancing resilience through molecular and digital technologies.
We deeply appreciate the participation and insights of everyone who contributed to these critical discussions.
Organizers:
Dr Uma Aysola, Global Director, Communications & Partner Engagement, ACCESS Health International
Dr. Sufia Sadaf, Program Manager, Public health surveillance-outreach, NCBS
Dr. Pankaj Gupta, Sr Program Manager, TIGS
Context
The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the need to develop more robust pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response systems to secure people’s health. In addition to strengthening conventional surveillance systems, there is a need to consider the integration of newer modalities like wastewater genomic surveillance and big data analysis-based surveillance into the surveillance systems to make them more efficient and effective.
There is also an emerging consensus around the concept of ‘One Health’, wherein the interconnectedness of human, animal (domestic and wild), and environmental health is brought into focus. It necessitates coordination between multiple sectors and stakeholders to integrate surveillance data coming from all three sources. There is an ongoing intense dialogue in operationalizing this concept. By fostering cooperation across these sectors, we can significantly improve our ability to prevent, detect, and control zoonotic diseases - infections with the potential to jump between animals and humans.
UN and WHO are seized with the issue of evolving more resilient health systems that are effective in preventing future epidemics and pandemics, are efficient in detecting warning signals and raising an appropriate and timely alarm, and are well prepared to mount an effective response in case there is an emerging threat. However, countries must assess their own systems and evolve their own blueprints as per their capacity and capability.
This collaborative approach is especially crucial for India, a nation facing a significant burden of zoonotic diseases like rabies, Nipah virus, and brucellosis.
The benefits of a robust One Health surveillance system in India are multifaceted:
Early Threat Detection:
By simultaneously monitoring animal health, human health, and environmental factors, we can identify potential disease outbreaks sooner. For instance, environmental surveillance has been instrumental in tracking the spread of Avian Influenza in poultry farms, preventing its transmission to humans.
Enhanced Response:
Sharing information across sectors allows for the development of targeted interventions and swifter control of outbreaks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, collaboration between human and animal health officials played a vital role in identifying potential animal reservoirs of the virus and informing public health measures.
Promoting Overall Public Health:
A healthy animal population contributes directly to a healthy human population and a healthier environment. Additionally, the One Health approach can tackle antimicrobial resistance, a growing concern where overuse of antibiotics in animals can lead to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria that can then infect humans.
Recognizing the importance of this collaborative approach, India is actively working towards strengthening its One Health surveillance system. The recently launched National One Health Mission is a flagship initiative that aims to bolster collaboration across sectors and establish a robust One Health surveillance system.
In addition, the Expert Group constituted by NITI Ayog has submitted the final report entitled “Future Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response – A Framework for Action”. The Expert Group noted the One Health Mission’s activities and integrated them into the core recommendations of the report.
The Global Learning Collaborative for Health System Resilience (GLC4HSR) maintained by ACCESS Health International has been undertaking collaborative learning exercises to bring out actionable insights. The thematic focus group has undertaken a systematic review of surveillance systems (Annexure: draft report). In addition, it also convened a two-day workshop in 2023 at Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS), Bangalore to deliberate on some of the issues mentioned above (Annexure: proceedings of the workshop).
As part of the ongoing learning journey, it, along with TIGS, Bangalore, and NCBS, Bangalore is hosting a round table discussion to deliberate on various proactive policies being undertaken by the government of India including the four key pillars of Ayushman Bharat program, policies aimed at self-reliance, One Health Mission and also on the final report submitted by the Expert Group constituted by NITI Ayog and any additional plans that may not be figuring in the ongoing health reforms.
The focus will be on evolving a robust surveillance-alert-response system to face various public health threats, including those related to AMR, climate change, conflicts, economic shocks, etc.