Animal health security strengthening for pandemic preparedness and response in India

The overall goal of the Project is to protect the livelihoods of livestock farmers and livestock’s contribution to the economy, bolster efforts for women’s economic empowerment, and support human health and nutrition by reducing the potential threat of zoonotic diseases in 12 states across India.  The specific project objectives include supporting One Health operationalization and coordination efforts across states and at the border, including surveillance for antimicrobial resistance (AMR); building human resource capacity to undertake One Health with a focus on professional skills enhancement in public health, animal health, wildlife, and the environment; and supporting institutional capacity building and systems strengthening at the state level. 

Implementation arrangements and key components

India’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy (DAHD) will have the ultimate responsibility for overall project implementation. For activities that involve neighboring countries, regional-level activities will be implemented through either existing bilateral mechanisms or regional cooperation platforms such as SASEC with the support of the IEs. Civil society will be engaged to support on-the-ground implementation of relevant activities. Both the ADB and the World Bank will serve as the IEs responsible for the co-financing arrangements.   

Expected outcomes

The Project is expected to increase the efficiency of laboratory systems to detect pathogens of epidemic potential and to equip labs to handle high consequence biological agents; improve integrated surveillance systems capacity to provide accurate and timely data; strengthen veterinarian and paraprofessionals’ capacity to meet the competency requirement for a quadripartite One Health; and improve institutional capacity to support operationalization of the country’s One Health policy. Over the long-term, it is expected that these outcomes will result in improved capacity to prevent, detect and respond to threats from animal diseases and AMR in India and across neighboring countries. The Project has output goals that express expected results in terms of the Joint External Evaluation Tool Third Edition levels, with the goal to reach level 4 (demonstrated capacity) in major areas.