In the wake of zoonotic disease outbreaks, including swine flu, Nipah virus and bird flu, threatening human health, the union government has come up with a crisis management plan (CMP) regarding animal health.
The plan aims at disease surveillance for early detection, early warning systems to predict outbreaks, and coordinated response strategies to manage crises effectively.
The CMP also emphasised the need for rapid action and continuous monitoring to minimise the impact of these diseases.
Training veterinarians and farm staff, enabling them to make quick and informed decisions during disease outbreaks is also part of the capacity-building initiatives under the plan.
The CMP ensures that stakeholders at national and local levels are involved in management and recovery efforts, fostering collaboration across government departments, veterinary services, and local communities.
The plan is designed to keep India's livestock sector resilient in the face of future disease challenges.
A key pillar of the CMP is the digital infrastructure backbone established through the National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM), which aims to build a robust digital ecosystem for India’s animal husbandry sector. The mission strengthens animal health surveillance too.
The mission also includes initiatives such as Unique Animal Identification, where all animals receive a unique ID linked to the farmer's ID, creating a centralised database to track individual animals, their movements and health records.
The digital infrastructure will also enable data-driven decision-making, providing insights into disease patterns, animal movements and market trends.
