ONE Health Live
Examining the issues of importance to animals, humans and the environment to help those across the food production system better understand the issues from a science-based perspective.
ONE Health Live
Bridging academia and government for global health security
Dr. Abhijit Mitra, Vice Chancellor at DUVASU, Mathura, and former Animal Husbandry Commissioner of India, brings decades of experience at the intersection of government policy and academic research to this fascinating conversation about One Health implementation in the world's most populous nation.
The discussion reveals how India—home to 1.4 billion people and 300 million bovine —approaches the critical connection between animal, human, and environmental health. Dr. Mitra shares his success story of securing a $25 million grant from the G20 pandemic fund to strengthen animal health security, demonstrating how strategic government investment can protect global health.
A recurring theme emerges throughout the conversation: the necessity of collaboration across sectors. "Nobody is safe if my neighbor is not safe," Dr. Mitra emphasizes, highlighting how COVID-19 reinforced this fundamental principle. He outlines how international organizations, national ministries, local governments, and communities must coordinate their efforts, with academia serving as "the bridge between government policies and field realities."
Perhaps most fascinating is Dr. Mitra's description of India's unique food production landscape, where traditional and modern systems coexist. Small-scale farmers with just one or two animals collectively produce 26% of the world's milk, while high-tech operations employ artificial intelligence to manage millions of birds. This diversity creates both challenges and resilience in the face of disease threats.
The conversation concludes with Dr. Mitra's five-point call to action: investment, collaboration, deliberation, sustainability, and awareness. These principles provide a roadmap for strengthening One Health approaches globally, ensuring we're better prepared for future health challenges that cross species boundaries.
Subscribe to One Health Live for more thought-provoking conversations at the intersection of animal, human, and environmental health. Your ONE Health Live co-hosts are Sarah Muirhead and Dennis Erpelding of Global Farm View.
Welcome to One Health Live, where we examine the topics of importance to animals, humans and the environment. Our goal is to help those across the food production system better understand the issues from a science-based perspective. We always strive to be thought-provoking and fact-based in our efforts to bring you the latest news and information. I'm Sarah Muirhead, and with me today is One Health co-host, dennis Erpelding, founder of Global Farm View. I'm going to ask Dennis to go ahead and introduce our guest here today, and he is from India, so I do want to note that India is home to the largest population globally, and that's over 1.4 billion people and growing. Therefore, food security and One Health are very intertwined. Dennis, over to you.
Speaker 2:Thanks, sarah, and delighted to introduce our guest today. It's Dr Abhijit Mitra. He's currently Vice Chancellor at Davosu Mathura in India. Prior in actually, where I met him, he was the Animal Husbandry Commissioner of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy in India In his Vice Chancellor role. It encompasses the College of Veterinary Science, animal Husbandry, college of Fisheries, college of Dairy Science and College of Biotechnology, so very broad portfolio. I do want to note his extensive experience in both government as well as the academic areas, so he really understands also the importance of the role of veterinarians in that process.
Speaker 2:As we explore One Health today, this is somewhat from the India perspective, but also global. Within the global context we recognize India is also the largest dairy cattle producer. They have almost 300 million head of cattle in Buffalo, so a little bit unique from the Buffalo standpoint very large poultry, egg, poultry meat sectors. So in the context of One Health, dr Mitra lives this on a daily basis. He recognizes the importance of food security, the importance of addressing zoonotic disease risks. So today we want to explore the roles of veterinarians and explore the importance of government entities and academia in the process. So, dr Mitra, welcome Congratulations on being named vice chancellor and it's truly a pleasure to have met you last July in New Delhi. As we begin today, I'd like to maybe have you reflect on your roles of the government and academia, as it relates to One Health.
Speaker 3:Thank you first of all to both of you for having me here.
Speaker 3:You know I have an opportunity, or I should say privilege, to work in the government directly to integrate the issues of policies and policy framework involving animal health production, disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, biosecurity and integrating all of those with the other two components, like human health and environmental health, together in a One Health approach.
Speaker 3:And I'm also happy to share with you when that G20 pandemic fund announces that there is a funding opportunity global competitive funding we pushed forward our proposal and we got a 25 million US dollar grant money from the pandemic fund for animal health security so that the animal health security in India become pandemic prepared. So that is one success story we had at a very recent time when I was working as an animal husbandry commissioner as well as also chief veterinary officer of the country. You know, in academia, I had almost 20 years of experience in academia, working in one of the leading research institutes called Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly and also the National Dairy Research Institute, where, of course, besides the post-graduate teaching, you know how to train veterinary and para-veterinary and community workers using research. Education and extension approach have been one of the area where I work there and you know that has taught me that how it is important to have academia and the government come together to the One Health perspective. I'll give you just one example In the recent years.
Speaker 3:You know, in US and elsewhere in the world, including India, there is a repetitive outbreak of highly patrilinear Asian influence. You know it has devastated environment, it devastated port industry and it also touched dairy industry in US for example. When it happened, you know government of India could give a regulatory pathway. But the academia, the research institutes, veterinary universities, they came forward to go for a evidence based surveillance. They could come up with the diagnostic mechanism, mechanism and other pathways so that we can government policy and the academic outcome, they can come together to handle the one of the fatal or very difficult business to control the alien in culture.
Speaker 3:So so that's the kind of a scenario you refer my role in the past almost three decades in government, as well as that.
Speaker 1:So, focusing on that government aspect of One Health, how does one leverage the international, the national and the local government roles in which ministries need to be involved?
Speaker 3:You know, I think all of us will agree that One Health requires the coordination across the multiple layers of society and multiple layers of governance. You know, internationally, if you see FAO and UNET and they have a kind of a One Health international arrangement and along with this some of the regional platform like, say, asean I'm talking about this Southeastern region, sart or or maybe Winstead they have become so important so that we come together internationally, globally as well as regionally, to fight the common problem of diseases or emerging diseases or re-emerging diseases and we appreciated that nobody is safe if my neighbor is not safe, you know.
Speaker 3:That becomes so very important and COVID has taught that more than us. Nationally, I think, three key ministries like Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries maybe different nomenclature in different country then of course Ministry of Human Health and Family Welfare, ministry of Environment and, some point of time, ministry of Agriculture. If these four ministries can come together, I think that should be a national mechanism to handle the One Health program. But it is so very important in the local government level. You know, those grassroots institutions like local municipalities, counties. We call it as a Panchayati Raj Institute. They should come together along with the communities because the community workers, community engagement.
Speaker 3:Without community engagement, one Health will be nowhere. So it is a kind of a cross-ministry coordination and rapid response mechanism is very critical for operationalize the One Health.
Speaker 1:So noting the importance of academia from the aspect of research, education and extension. How then, does academia?
Speaker 3:contribute to One Health. You know, academia is kind of I'll call it a kind of you know it's a first step, very first step of any program, any policy, anything we do for any sector, so the One Health. Also, academia brings a you know, scientific evidences and it gives a say, epidemiological tool, disease surveillance mechanism, diagnostic pathways, and then what are the impact of different diseases, impact of climate, climate changes and how it affects the lifestyle, productivity, those evidences brought in by academia, and also it tells that these are the scientific evidences. On those basis, on those data, a policy can be taken care of.
Speaker 3:And education is also becoming very important. You see, who is going to train the veterinarians, how you can create the animal health worker, how you are going to train the community worker, health worker, how we are going to train the community worker, paraprofessionals, and finally, how we will bring in that education can only bring in the interdisciplinary approach, the bringing the uh professionals from the different fields to come together and we speak in one common language so that, you know, human health worker can communicate with a veterinarian and we speak the common language. And herein extension become is very important because without transforming or translating the lab innovation, the lab innovation, government policy into the real time deliverables. It will be so difficult to get the success. So I, in one simple word, I think it is a bridge between a government policies and the field realities, ensuring the science informs the practice and policy decisions. That's it how the academia bridge with the government policies.
Speaker 2:Dr Mitra, you've touched on a little bit that veterinary infrastructure. You've mentioned para-veterinarians or paraprofessional type people. There's a thing about veterinary infrastructure, veterinarians, laboratory capacities we also recognize the importance of veterinarians and things like that. But how do we integrate that into this government academia you've mentioned, because obviously they play a critical role, as you've referenced?
Speaker 3:Let me put it this way first. I remember in 2002 in Washington Post, I was doing that time, I think, my postdoc in USDA lab in Bellsville in Muddyland. So that time I was working on transgenic animal production. My professor was Bob Jawad and we asked a question I think there was some kind of a survey took place in Washington Post asking a question whether you would like to have transgenic crops which is does not affected by any, any, any paste and all, and it will increase the yield Across the globe. Everybody said no one transgenic crop. But when the same question asked to the same people like, do you need some transgenic system which will produce some biomolecule which will cure your disease, which it could not be cured by anyone, everybody says yes. So what I try to say, you know, says yes. So what I try to say, you know, the perspective changes the who you are and which side you are. So veterinary profession as such, though, it provide nutritional security, livelihood security, and it also create a social harmony, you know, and it gives you a companion animal.
Speaker 3:It gives you a food it gives a livelihood. You know many times government is little bit. You know I will not say they don't want to. You know they are prioritized more on human health than the animal health. So every time animal health across the globe get a little backseat because priorities become more to the human. But we don't understand that if the animal health is not taken care of, we are equally become vulnerable. As of today, 75% of the diseases which are infectious of nature are coming from animal origin.
Speaker 3:So every three out of four diseases are of animal origin. So there is a need of investment. That is one thing. Second thing is that you know, veterinary infrastructure is so very important. It starts with the number of adequate number of veterinarian, then their capacity building, their continued education, so that they can handle. Then the laboratories. This is the basic. There should be accredited labs sufficient facilities, those should be reference laboratory and each laboratory should be accredited labs. Sufficient facilities, those should be reference laboratory, and each laboratory should be linked with the other laboratories so that we have a harmonization of the protocol and a kind of a, you know, testing capability should be mapped and there is a linking that is so very important for a successful One.
Speaker 3:Health and, of course, I must tell you, the field services, you know, accessibility and equitable access. These are the two important milestones which will determine how, when and where we are going to make our decision correct, to prevent, to prepare and to control any emerging and re-emerging disease. And finally, it is so very important to integrating all of these under one platform so that in case of any eventualities, that is a rapid we are enabled to rapid detection then become a reporting and response to any emerging problem. So these are the four milestone. I'll recap human resource, laboratories, laboratories, field services and efficient integration. And, of course, the funding. Sufficient funding or optimum funding is so very important.
Speaker 1:So you mentioned everybody coming together, working together.
Speaker 3:Everybody coming together selflessly, selflessly. Right, we say we are selfless, but the example I've given you, we are not selfless.
Speaker 1:So how do you make that happen, how do you make that collaboration happen? Because it sounds great, but sometimes in reality it doesn't take place More and more talking.
Speaker 3:I think it is so very important. We should not be shy of anything. We should discuss, debate, put forward our problem hypothesis. And you know one thing I am very, quite a hopeful guy. Actually, I am a very optimistic guy because I have seen you know, I am almost in 60s now at my age I've seen you know I'm almost in 60s now at my age I have seen things are changing, things are moving and things are getting better and better. And every one of us are trying. You know there are some screwed up people. They're screwing up everything. That's fine, that will be everywhere every time to be there.
Speaker 3:But I think, discussion, education, training and educating our policymakers or politicians because they are actually making the decision, so lobbying. So these are the. Maybe your podcast will be listened by someone and they would be thinking okay, there is a need of funding, there is a need of manpower. A car cannot move with the three wheels, right, he needs four wheels. You cannot say you know, I don't have money, so you manage with three, or you manage it too. You cannot manage something beyond a minimum number. So minimum infrastructure, optimum funding and understanding at the societal level, and educating our political bosses is so very important across the globe, across the globe.
Speaker 2:You've touched on many different topics and one thing I think about when you're in academia. I think about we talk science-based solutions. So we think about zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial stewardship, avian influenza that you've mentioned. You think about food security. How do we really make sure that the science comes together and we get those science-based solutions for the betterment of addressing these issues and have? And you think about food security. How do we really make sure that the science comes together and we get those science-based solutions for the betterment of addressing these issues and have the proper risk context in these?
Speaker 3:You know, you see any government. Actually they work on three four things. One is policy regulation. They provide funding, they do coordination and they probably do oversight. So these five things are the function of a government, an academia. They do research, capacity building, training and extension. And you know one thing we missed, I think, probably private sector. They played a huge role, right, because you know, they are the real people who come with innovation, the scale it up technology deployment.
Speaker 3:They bring the many disruptive technology and some of the disruptive technologies such I never thought of. That drone will be used to deliver a medicine or a vaccine pack to remote place of Himalaya where it will take by taking a journey. It may take, say, one day, or maybe 48 hours, so don't can be used. So these are the disruptive technology which can be used across the field. You know I'll give you one example.
Speaker 3:Like you know, if you go through our national animal disease control program in India, Iran, our national animal disease control program in India, iran, we go for a 100% funding for four vaccines FMD, then brucellosis, ppr for small ruminant and CSF, the classical swine fever for the pigs 100% funded by Central Government, federal government. Now look, all those four vaccines have been developed by academia of my country, right. So then the private industries they came in and they started producing those vaccine in a good quality and enough quantity, those vaccine in a good quality and enough quantity. Government provided the fund, but it is the private who created the opportunities and the delivery mechanism and we do vaccination only FMD, you know we do 15 crores. 15 crores means, I think, 500 million vaccine in a year. You know it's the kind of a. So you told 300 million bovine population. So all those 300 bovine population are vaccinated twice in a year for FMD. So nearly 600 million vaccination is done every year for last since 2019. It's not an easy job. So this is a kind of a science academia as evidence, you know, and private industry.
Speaker 3:They came together and it's one of the examples because you know some of the diseases they may not hamper some of the diseases. They may not hamper human health directly because it is may not be genetic, but when a production goes down it affects the livelihood and it creates a cycle. You know, the poor become more poorer, they become more vulnerable, they suffer from more diseases and then society as a whole it becomes, it suffers. So it is not always genosis, it is also a scale. The livelihood, nutritional security and all those is one of the mechanism of One Health. Yeah, I hope I have answered your question.
Speaker 2:You've done a fantastic job of touching on many things and it makes me reflect. As you think about India, you've got a very unique let's say, food animal production structure, all the way from very integrated operators to people that have one or two cows or just a few chickens. As you think about our global audience, we think about challenge, the infrastructure, any observations of what the learnings are from India that we could apply in India but also, importantly, to other countries, even in the most developed world? Just general thoughts there, please.
Speaker 3:You know, often I become surprised. You know, india is a country of a great surprise and I have always. You believe me, I always have a goosebump by every now and then, in a single span of road you will find Mercedes, the recent model of.
Speaker 3:Mercedes and you will also find a car driven by a horse. So it's very unique country, you know. And that's the flavor. And I know, sometimes I tell people I don't know if there's a rebirth or something is there or not, but if I happen to, if God comes and asks me, hey, I am to give you a rebirth where you would like to born. I again, I am to born in India, because it is a fantastic country, altogether different country.
Speaker 3:So, coming back to your question, you ask a small roller lifestyle, so close to my heart. You know, here masses produce the mass. Each individual, each family may be producing one liter or two liter of milk, say, but when you pull it together we produce 26% of the world milk. We are number one, right. Same for A and okay, our country is not that much non-vegetarian or meat-eating population is not much, but that's tremendous. And you know, when you visit any place you will find there's a backyard poultry and then you will find 50 kilometers away, huge poultry house with a kind of a. You know 10 million, 50 million poultry barns, those backyard poultry farmer. He needs veterinarian at his doorstep, he needs the service at his doorstep. He doesn't know much. But on the other hand, I told that example of, say, 10 million or 20 million poultry high tech poultry farm. He has got his own veterinarian, he has got own feed mill. He even using AI for looking after his poultry farm.
Speaker 3:So those example you know, like one side you have got very low level backyard system. Another way you have a high tech and that is the beauty of the beauty of India. So so you know, and you must be aware of that, in Europe in two to before 2015, they thought we should increase the size of our farm, so they give a lot of subsidies. Now those, all those subsidy goes to only 20% of the farmers. 80% subsidy went to the 20% of the large producing farms.
Speaker 3:But they realize that large production farms are not that profitable.
Speaker 2:So, they have revised that program.
Speaker 3:Now they are reducing the firm size. So sometime, you know to start late in india, like country, we are quite comfortable with the small holder livestock systems because they are the, they're the real sentinel, they're the real people who are guarding our economy. Because and it is also, you have to realize those farming systems are mixed farming. So one farmer keeps two cows, maybe five goats, maybe 10 poultry birds, and he may not be having land, but that gives him a diversity, a flexibility. If a cow gets sick, the production from the goat, or few eggs it produces from the poultry, it mitigates its economic loss.
Speaker 1:You know it's another time.
Speaker 3:I think we can talk about the smallholder lifestyle system.
Speaker 1:But in a one-help perspective.
Speaker 3:We need two different approaches. In one place we should have accessible the veterinary services train them make aware them biosecurity and other way.
Speaker 3:You have a high tech or large scale farm where you have a different approach to tell them what they should do and they should not do. So it's a very unique opportunity and I think government is doing absolutely fine and we are realizing it that we should keep, nurture, educate and bring them up. And when you call it a small to large livestock system, we also call it as a village itself is a big farm. You know it may be owned by, say, 100 people, so it's a big farm. So we consider that as a model.
Speaker 1:Any closing calls for action as we seek to work together at the global and national level to advance and strengthen our One Health approach.
Speaker 3:So I would leave it with this investment collaboration. A One Health approach, so I would leave it with this Investment collaboration. Deliberation and sustainability and awareness these five things, if we take up, I think our future will be brighter and safer. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Very good. Well, we certainly appreciate your time here today. You shared some really great insight and I think there's a lot of learnings from what we can do here in the US and on a global basis when it comes to One Health.
Speaker 2:I also want to add my sincere thanks. It's truly a pleasure to visit with you. I really appreciate your deep insights as we think about academia, government, the private sector, how we work together and also, importantly, as we think about India in the context of the global activity. So thank you very much. You've truly been helpful as we ponder the One Health concepts. We look forward to continuing to work with you as we go forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you, I look forward, thank you.
Speaker 1:We want to thank our listeners as well for joining us here today, and we want to encourage you to sign up, if you haven't already, on your favorite podcast channel so you don't miss another episode of One Health Live. Until next time, have a great day and thank you for listening.