Under the Prime Minister-Ayushman Bharat Health lnfrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), the Indian Council of Medical Research is collaborating with eight premier scientific organisations in India to establish the National Institute of One Health to roll out the National One Health Mission across the country to strengthen multidisciplinary approaches in health research.
The ICMR is also working to expand its network of BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories to strengthen diagnostic infrastructure and enhance access to laboratory services across the country, Rajiv Bahl, Director-General, ICMR, said at a press conference earlier this week outlining the council’s vision for health research in India.
Dr. Bahl said the government has undertaken various interventions to strengthen and advance public health research in India. “As part of these ongoing interventions, ICMR has worked to streamline its Intramural Research Programme funding to strengthen research on various priority health issues. It has also worked to expand funding under its Extramural Research Programme to enhance funding for research on vaccines, drugs, disease diagnostics, and treatments for stronger public health systems,” he said.
He said that with the launch of the National Health Research Programme, the ICMR would also be collaborating on large multi-stakeholder studies with national and State-level Departments of Health and Family Welfare on 12 key health areas, including infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, child health and nutrition, and generating critical evidence for strengthening health interventions on these issues.
