One Medicine vs One Health: Policy disconnect in India

Abstract

One Health is an integrated, unifying approach to balancing and optimizing the health of people, animals, and ecosystems in a sustainable manner. It is a global movement to align our thinking and policy on human, animal, and environmental health, which is critical for effectively combating diseases at the human-animal-environmental interfaces. The Indian government intends to implement the much-needed and globally recognized ‘ One Nation, One Health System’ policy by 2030; however, given the complexity of India’s healthcare system in terms of One Health implementation, it seems to be a long way to go move and accelerate the collaboration among system stakeholders at various levels. Government of India aims to integrate modern and traditional medical systems such as allopathy, ayurveda, and homeopathy in education, medical practice, and research in the larger domain of One Health. Basically, their larger focus is on intra-human health systems integration rather than inter-system integration, which is also not aligned with the principles of One Medicine. Perhaps this could be the foundation for launching the One Health concept, and which will include more relevant stakeholders working at the human-animal-ecosystem interface in the coming years. The current initiative neither fulfils the essential principle of the One Medicine or One Health concept nor will it serve the purpose of the Global One Health joint plan of action. There is an urgent need for broadening the inter-systems stakeholders at all levels and adopting the principles of One Health more holistically in alignment with the global movement. One Health, a comprehensive approach to human, animal, and ecosystem well-being, is well-recognized worldwide. India’s visionary ‘One Nation, One Health System’ policy targets 2030, focusing on integrating diverse medical practices like allopathy, ayurveda, and homeopathy. This marks a foundational stride towards broader engagement across the human-animal-ecosystem interface. Nonetheless, the current proposal has been marked as a shortfall for global One Health principles and objectives. While recognizing the significant room for improvement, this article delicately underscores the need for more comprehensive implementation aligning with One Health principles and considering inter-system harmony beyond the intra-system.