Jammu and Kashmir: SKUAST-K organises One Health Hackathon

A statement of SKUAST-K issued here said that the hackathon was organised by the university’s Faculty of Veterinary Sciences (FVSc) under the World Bank-ICAR funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) for the institutional development of SKUAST-K. SKUAST-K’s Director Planning and Monitoring, and PI NAHEP, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai, who was the chief guest at the occasion, urged the scientists at the FVSc to pool the resources across the divisions to develop a customised disease diagnostic laboratory.

He said that with the support of NAHEP and Divisional Administration much needed BSL level II and III will shortly come up at the FVSc and AH so that the diagnostic facilities are available for various emerging and re-emerging disease.

Dean FVSc Prof M A Pal, in his address, highlighted the role played by the faculty in fulfilling the cause of one health, particularly in view of the COVID19 pandemic. During the day-long programme, international and national human and animal health experts spoke about various public health issues including COVID19, zoonotic diseases and the concept of one health.

Prof Ruth N Zadoks of the University of Sydney, Australia spoke about the challenges, barriers and solutions in one health.

Zaffar Amin Shah, professor of immunology and molecular medicine, SKIMS spokes about one health in the era of emerging zoonoses. Mirdula Marry Paul, a senior policy analyst at ATREE India spoke about strengthening one health framework to safeguard environmental, animal and human health.

Ex-director education, SKUAST-K, Prof Shakil Ahmad Wani’s talk was titled ‘Towards One Health: A Veterinarian’s Perspective’.

A number of students and faculty members of FVSc Shuhama, Government Medical College Srinagar, Department of Environmental Sciences, KU, Division of Environmental Sciences, SKUAST-K participated in the event.