Thiruvananthapuram, The Kerala government on Friday stressed the importance of 'One Health', a collaborative approach encompassing multiple sectors, including human health, animal health and environmental health, to comprehensively address public health issues.
Addressing an event here, state health minister Veena George highlighted the importance of this approach in enhancing public health, especially in the wake of outbreaks like Nipah and COVID-19.
He said the Kerala government has taken concrete steps to implement this vision by setting up One Health Institute and centers in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
Additionally, the government has trained a large number of volunteers to facilitate communication and collaboration between various stakeholders, including government agencies and local communities across the state.
“Since the outbreak of Nipah and COVID-19, the concept of One Health has attracted significant attention.The state government has set up One Healt Institutes and centers in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. We have trained 250,000 volunteers to report and engage with the government and local people. communities across Kerala,” the minister said.
She was inaugurating the concluding session of Trivandrum Management Association's annual event Trimaa here.
According to a release issued by TRIMA, realizing the importance of One Health, the state government has amended it in the health policy, and a Public Health Act was passed by the Legislative Assembly last year.“We have set up teams at the local level, which include officials from the health department, water authority, pollution control board and anima palanquin, headed by the panchayat president. These committees are responsible for early identification of infection outbreaks and ensuring response at the local level. Will help in monitoring the situation,” he is quoted as saying in the release.
He said that only through collaborative and collective efforts of various departments, the state can effectively deal with the menace of infectious diseases.
He also expressed hope that the ongoing studies by ICMR on the mechanism of spread of Nipah would yield findings this year.Highlighting the major health challenges, he pointed out that the recent cases of avian flu in Alappuzha and Kottayam as well as dengue and chikungunya are also significant concerns.
Although avian flu has not affected humans in Kerala, 800 people have been affected globally, the release said.
It said if the flu spread to humans it could be devastating and the state health department was closely monitoring the situation.
Addressing an event here, state health minister Veena George highlighted the importance of this approach in enhancing public health, especially in the wake of outbreaks like Nipah and COVID-19.
He said the Kerala government has taken concrete steps to implement this vision by setting up One Health Institute and centers in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
Additionally, the government has trained a large number of volunteers to facilitate communication and collaboration between various stakeholders, including government agencies and local communities across the state.
“Since the outbreak of Nipah and COVID-19, the concept of One Health has attracted significant attention.The state government has set up One Healt Institutes and centers in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. We have trained 250,000 volunteers to report and engage with the government and local people. communities across Kerala,” the minister said.
She was inaugurating the concluding session of Trivandrum Management Association's annual event Trimaa here.
According to a release issued by TRIMA, realizing the importance of One Health, the state government has amended it in the health policy, and a Public Health Act was passed by the Legislative Assembly last year.“We have set up teams at the local level, which include officials from the health department, water authority, pollution control board and anima palanquin, headed by the panchayat president. These committees are responsible for early identification of infection outbreaks and ensuring response at the local level. Will help in monitoring the situation,” he is quoted as saying in the release.
He said that only through collaborative and collective efforts of various departments, the state can effectively deal with the menace of infectious diseases.
He also expressed hope that the ongoing studies by ICMR on the mechanism of spread of Nipah would yield findings this year.Highlighting the major health challenges, he pointed out that the recent cases of avian flu in Alappuzha and Kottayam as well as dengue and chikungunya are also significant concerns.
Although avian flu has not affected humans in Kerala, 800 people have been affected globally, the release said.
It said if the flu spread to humans it could be devastating and the state health department was closely monitoring the situation.
