US $25 million grant sanctioned to strengthen Animal Health System of India under pandemic fund

New Delhi: The devastating human, economic, and social cost of COVID-19 has highlighted the urgent need for coordinated action to build stronger One-health systems and mobilize additional resources for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

In the past few decades, 5 out of the 6 WHO​ declared public health emergencies of international concern were of animal origin. Consequently, it has become evident that any pandemic preparedness and response (PPR) needs a One Health approach with a focus on animal health security.

The G20 Pandemic Fund has approved the $25 million proposal submitted by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Government of India on “Animal Health Security Strengthening in India for Pandemic Preparedness and Response”. Established under Indonesia’s G20 Presidency, the Pandemic Fund finances critical investments to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities at national, regional, and global levels, focusing on low- and middle-income countries.

The Pandemic Fund received around 350 Expressions of Interest (EoI) and 180 full proposals in the first call with grant requests totalling more than $2.5 billion against an envelope of only $338 million. The Pandemic Fund’s Governing Board has approved 19 grants under its first round of funding allocations aimed to boost resilience to future pandemics in 37 countries across six regions on 20^th July 2023.

The major interventions under the proposal are strengthening and integrating disease surveillance and early warning system, upgrading, and expanding the laboratory network, improving the inter-operable data systems and building capacity for data analytics for risk analysis and risk communication, strengthening health security for transboundary animal diseases and India’s role in regional cooperation through cross border collaboration.

The Pandemic Fund will not only bring additional, dedicated resources for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. It will also incentivize increased investments, enhance coordination among partners, and serve as a platform for advocacy. The impact of the project would be to reduce the risk that a pathogen will emerge from animals (domesticated and wildlife) to be transmitted into the human population endangering the health, nutritional security, and livelihoods of vulnerable populations. The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as the lead implementing entity with The World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).