Overview
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHF&W) has announced a series of measures to strengthen national readiness against emerging infectious diseases. The steps include expanding the VRDL network, establishing new diagnostic and genomic facilities, improving coordination between centre and states, and launching the PM‑ABHIM mission.
Key Developments
- VRDL network under ICMR expanded to 163 laboratories: 11 regional, 27 state and 125 medical‑college labs.
- Four NGS hubs set up for decentralized genomic characterisation of pathogens.
- New Infectious Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratories created to standardise data generation and reporting.
- Strengthened coordination mechanisms between central and state health authorities via real‑time surveillance under the IDSP/IHIP.
- Regular simulation exercises, mock drills and rapid outbreak response teams tested the coordination framework.
- Launch of PM‑ABHIM to upgrade health‑care infrastructure at all levels for managing new and emerging diseases.
- Technical support during outbreaks provided by the NCDC and the National Joint Outbreak Response Team.