WE ENVISION AN INDIA ...

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Poor water quality, sanitation, lack of infrastructure, health inequities, and social determinants have led to poor physical and mental health and inequalities across the Indian population. These problems are coupled with a need for more capacity and ability among those at local levels to develop decentralized and context-specific solutions. These issues have resulted in wasted resources, duplication of efforts, a contradiction of actions, and an incomplete understanding of problems due to a lack of data sharing.  Further, despite the space for decentralized decision-making and community engagement, there needs to be more context-customized planning and implementation of solutions.

 

We need a wide range of stakeholders to overcome these challenges and, in doing so, also consider the motivations of frontline/community-based health and sanitation workers along with existing policy/information gaps and state priorities on improved health systems. Further, we must identify contextually appropriate and influencing variables and indicators of physical and mental health. At the same time, we must consider bureaucratic limitations, stigmas, and cultural barriers coupled with a lack of health-seeking behavior and poor physical and mental health. One Health is an integrated approach acknowledging that human health is inextricably tied to the health of the animals, ecosystems, and environments around communities. By using a One Health approach, we can connect public, animal, and environmental health requirements with community needs to dynamically predict, detect, and respond to health burdens.