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In an engaging session hosted by the Indian Alliance for Public Health Preparedness, Dr. Sathiyanarayanan.S, Associate Professor at AIIMS Mangalagiri, shed light on the effects of climate change on public health. He highlighted eight major health risks, including heat-related illnesses, vector-borne diseases, malnutrition, and mental health impacts, emphasizing the need for robust adaptation strategies.

A key focus was on the One Health approach to tackle emerging infectious diseases, many of which are climate-sensitive. As we face increasing climate challenges, it is crucial to prioritize health systems strengthening and sustainable infrastructure for the future.

Watch the complete event here.

Dr. Rakesh Kakkar, Professor and Head of Community and Family Medicine at AIIMS Bathinda led a virtual session on the importance of a comprehensive environmental surveillance system to combat zoonotic diseases. He emphasized inter-sectoral collaboration, capacity building, and communication as key strategies to control the spread of diseases, including emerging infectious threats.

Dr Kakkar also discussed the health risks posed by heavy metals and air pollution, highlighting the need for early warning systems and flexible protocols. By integrating technology, governance, and capacity building, we can create a flexible system ready to tackle novel pathogens and health crises.

In conversation with Dr. Varsha Shridhar, Chief Enabling Officer and Co-founder of Molecular Solutions Care Health, we explored how a collaborative mindset and environmental surveillance can transform our approach to AMR, offering solutions that engage communities, bridge data gaps, and drive meaningful change in healthcare and beyond.

With respect to collaboratives, she shares that just as workers in a union collectively hold more power, a nationwide alliance like the Indian Alliance for Public Health Preparedness (IAPHP) possesses significant political and social capital. Read the full interview

IAPHP hosted a public talk titled ‘A Primer on Public Health Preparedness’ by Alliance Member Dr. JVR Prasada Rao, Former Union Health Secretary, Government of India and Former United Nations Secretary-General Special Envoy on AIDS in Asia Pacific. Dr. Rao discussed the key stages of public health preparedness, the role of community engagement, and building partnerships with the government.

The talk highlighted the benefits of community participation in helping extend the reach of government programmes to the last mile and the resilience that vulnerable populations can develop over time. Watch the complete event

Dr David Larsen is the Associate Professor of Public Health at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse University. He’s a distinguished epidemiologist with a PhD and MPH from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Public Health at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse University. He’s a distinguished epidemiologist with a PhD and MPH from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. His extensive expertise in large data analysis and spatial statistics, focusing on global health issues such as mosquito-borne illnesses, mHealth, and sanitation made for an insightful conversation on the use of environmental surveillance (ES). His interview covers considerations in designing programs to ensure health equity for communities and the role of surveillance in identifying health equities.  Read the full interview

Alliance Member, Mr Ajay Raghavan is the co-founder of Bangalore Creative Circus (BCC) and the Initiative for Climate Action (ICA), both working towards building ecosystems for climate action.

In his interview, he shared the strategies and models they have been experimenting with at the ward level in Bengaluru to connect top-down and bottom-up approaches to create a comprehensive approach to climate change. He emphasized the importance of engaging with local knowledge and recognizing that solutions already exist within communities that can ensure effective response systems for climate-related challenges, including health. Read the full interview

On 27th October 2023 IAPHP hosted a public panel titled ‘Enabling Environments for Environmental Surveillance’ featuring Precision Health City Partners –  

• Mr. Asim R. Bhalerao, CEO, Fluid Robotics 
• Dr. Paromita Chakraborty, Professor & Head of REACH, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Trichy & Trivandrum 
• Dr. Syed Belal Hassan, Dy Medical Superintendent & Associate Professor Community Medicine, Integral University Lucknow

The panelists shared their experiences of initiating projects with government departments including identifying champions within government, building relationships on trust, finding institutional alignment, and overcoming barriers faced.  Watch the complete event.

On 30th January 2023, IAPHP hosted a roundtable discussion centered on ‘How might we employ tools of Environmental Surveillance (ES) to address and amplify existing efforts to understand and mitigate AMR for public health in India?’. A significant theme that emerged in the discussion was data and evidence for AMR, including –

• The need for a regulated, central database for ES & AMR Data that practitioners can plug into and contribute to instead of building further siloed datasets. 
• Collecting AMR data alongside contextual data on environmental and socio-economic factors to support decision-makers to make equitable decisions in health care. 
• Analysing AMR data from the national to local level to inform policy and make it actionable at the local level as well.  
• Distinguishing sources of AMR between community effluents and pharma industries to address the sources of AMR at community levels.  

Watch the complete event.