New Delhi: To increase surveillance of infectious diseases and outbreak response with the ‘One Health’ approach, the central government is focusing on strengthening the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). For the same, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya virtually laid the foundation stone virtually for the regional branches of NCDC in Assam, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, West Bengal and Mizoram, on January 2, Additionally, Dr Mandaviya also established three Biosafety Level 3 Labs (BSL-3) in Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand.
आज NCDC दिल्ली उन्नयन भवन का लोकार्पण किया साथ ही NCDC की क्षेत्रीय शाखा, 6 राज्य शाखाओं और BSL प्रयोगशालाओं का शिलान्यास भी किया।
देश में विभिन्न रोगों के फैलाव पर नियंत्रण और निगरानी के लिए सुदृढ़ स्वास्थ्य तंत्र की आवश्यकता थी, जिसका अभाव हमें कोरोना के समय भी हुआ। pic.twitter.com/SKJXBnI54h
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) January 2, 2024
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Emphasising that these institutions under the NCDC will be in the interest of the local populace, he said,
The Government of India is committed to strengthening the surveillance of infectious diseases and outbreak response through the strengthening of NCDC.
Dr Mandaviya also dedicated the Auditorium and Library block as a part of the Upgraded NCDC, Delhi to the nation and released several technical documents.
The Union Health Minister said that the regional branches of NCDC will help in combating diseases with regional variations like Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a widespread disease caused by a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus), Kyasanur Forest disease (KFD) is caused by Kyasanur Forest disease virus, and Scrub typhus, a disease spread through the bites of larval mites.
Further, the NCDC state branches will augment the capacity of the region/state for preparedness and response, especially for outbreak-prone diseases by high-risk pathogens.
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Dr Mandaviya said that the state level branches will boost the regional, district and block-level healthcare infrastructure and will augment the surveillance, diagnostics and public health preparedness and response capacity for any impending outbreak or pandemic in future. The Union Health Minister further said that pandemic preparedness and disease surveillance anchored in strong health systems that reach all people, especially the most vulnerable, are crucial to ensure better protection from major disease outbreaks.
Applauded NCDC for its contribution in fighting the coronavirus outbreak, Dr Mandaviya said,
India has performed better than many other countries in fighting the COVID pandemic. NCDC has been at the forefront in instituting containment measures including community surveillance, contact tracing and response in coordination with the State and local governments.
Dr Mandaviya said that the new initiative is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of enhancing public awareness towards personal health to ward off diseases, particularly lifestyle diseases, also known as non-communicable diseases, about which he spoke about in his last Mann Ki Baat session.
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
