Department of Animal Husbandry signs MoU with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve livestock sector

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) has signed an MoU with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve India’’s livestock sector. The department and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have signed “a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding to work together on sustainably improving India’s livestock sector to support the nation’s food and nutritional security, and protect the economic wellbeing of small-scale livestock producers.” The department is working to improve animal health and production programmes to ensure food security and economic development, an official statement said. “Developing the livestock sector envisages strengthening animal husbandry infrastructure, entrepreneurship development and implementing One Health framework. To meet food and nutritional security challenges and to safeguard human health, it is essential that animal health is accorded a priority,” the statement said. Through this collaboration, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide technical assistance for the design and delivery of new technologies and implementation of best practices that are relevant in the local context. The joint support programmes will be directed at improving livestock health, production, and animal nutrition, identifying scientific and technological solutions for major infectious diseases, providing technical assistance in translational sciences, identifying opportunities for scientific and technological collaboration, and implementing the One Health framework. The department said that the implementation of the ‘‘One Health Framework’’ will allow tracking and resolution of animal and human health challenges and will prevent possible infection and disease outbreaks. The National One Health platform will be established as part of this partnership to improve coordination, productivity, and support livelihoods of small-scale producers. Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, said the Centre is committed to monitoring and significantly improving animal health and production in the country. “This partnership with the Gates Foundation will provide technical assistance to the department to ensure sustainable growth and prosperity of India’s livestock sector and to promote an efficient, multi-sectoral One Health approach on critical animal health issues among a broad set of stakeholders,” he added.