Animal health security strengthening for pandemic preparedness and response in India

The project aims to enhance livestock livelihoods and economic contributions, support women’s economic empowerment, and improve human health by mitigating zoonotic disease threats across 12 Indian states. Specific goals include advancing One Health coordination, improving antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance, boosting human resource capacities in public health, animal health, wildlife, and environmental sectors, and reinforcing institutional systems at the state level.

Implementation and key components

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy (DAHD) will be responsible for overall project management. Regional activities involving neighboring countries will be facilitated through established bilateral mechanisms or regional cooperation frameworks, such as SASEC, with support from Implementing Entities. Civil society organizations will be engaged to support local implementation efforts. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank will co-finance the project. 

Establishing surveillance systems
The project will set up a passive surveillance system to monitor zoonotic diseases, economically significant conditions, and AMR across 12 states. This includes expanding existing sero-surveillance with environmental monitoring and genomics. District and state-level units, known as State One Health Support Units (SOHSUs), will coordinate these efforts (ADB and World Bank).

Upgrading laboratory infrastructure

Upgrades will focus on improving laboratory facilities, particularly in rural areas serving pastoralists and smallholder farmers. The project will support infrastructure improvements and diagnostic capacity in university-affiliated labs and develop laboratory information systems for enhanced disease surveillance and analytics (ADB and World Bank).

Strengthening veterinary workforce
The project will update training modules for veterinarians and paraprofessionals and strengthen training facilities. It will offer in-service training for veterinary professionals across the 12 states over a five-year period, in collaboration with National and State One Health Support Units (NOHSU and SOHSU) (ADB and World Bank).

Enhancing institutional capacity for One Health
The project will build NOHSU as a leading center for One Health, focusing on interdisciplinary training and quality management. It will assist SOHSUs in developing and harmonizing One Health action plans and conducting needs assessments (ADB, FAO, World Bank).

Expected outcomes

The project is expected to improve laboratory systems for detecting high-risk pathogens, enhance surveillance capacities for timely data collection, and strengthen the training of veterinary professionals. Institutional support for One Health will be bolstered, contributing to better prevention, detection, and response to zoonotic diseases and AMR. The aim is to achieve level 4 (demonstrated capacity) in key areas according to the Joint External Evaluation Tool, improving public health outcomes in India and neighbouring regions.