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Report reflects on challenges faced during COVID-19 pandemic and proposes a comprehensive strategy for future pandemic preparedness.
- It emphasizes "One Health" approach to address growing threat of zoonotic diseases.
Issues faced during COVID-19:
- Legislative: Provisions of NDMA & Epidemic Diseases Act (EDA) are not entirely suited for a public health emergency.
- Surveillance and Data Management: Multiple data sources were not well-integrated, affecting decision-making.
- Research and Innovation: Research bodies are not linked with industries for rapid development of diagnostics & vaccines.
Key recommendations:
- Governance:
- Enacting Public Health Emergency Management Act(PHEMA) to address aspects beyond epidemics, including non-communicable diseases, disasters, and bioterrorism,
- Creation of an Empowered Group of Secretaries on Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response (PPER) chaired by Cabinet Secretary.
- Setting up of a special PPER fund
- Data Management, Surveillance and Early Predictive Warning:
- Creating a well-connected/integrated robust surveillance network
- Building a solid modeling and forecasting network for early prediction
- Research and Innovation:
- Setting up an Institute of Innovation for New Platform technologies and vaccine development
- Creating Centers of Excellence for Skilling Human Resources in identified gap areas.
Existing Framework for Epidemic/Pandemic Management:
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