In a significant step, sources claimed that India has placed a funding request of around $55 million in its first call with the Pandemic Fund of the World Bank.

With an emphasis on low- and middle-income nations, the fund has been established to finance crucial investments aimed at enhancing pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities at national, regional, and global levels. It was developed following the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the sources, India has requested funding to battle pandemics affecting both humans and animals. Given that many diseases are zoonotic, monitoring and preventing animal diseases are equally vital.

Most zoonotic (animal-to-human and human-to-animal) diseases have been found to have their origins in animals, according to scientists. Even the fatal COVID-19 pandemic infection was discovered in China's bat population first. According to sources, India is committed to being fully equipped to handle any upcoming global pandemic or health crisis, such as COVID-19 or SARS.

The fund's website states that its governing board approved $300 million for the first tranche of funding to assist developing nations in better preparing for upcoming global pandemics. The Global Pandemic Fund has received around $1.6 billion from various donors. The European Union and the United States are at the forefront of these.

To enhance global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capabilities among donor governments, recipient countries, foundations, and civil society organizations, this fund was established in September 2022. The shared cooperation of the investment is what is required. With an emphasis on low- and middle-income nations, cooperation is carried out under this at the national, regional, and global levels.

The World Bank is the trustee of this Global Pandemic Fund. Its secretariat is located there, which also includes technical staff from the World Health Organization (WHO). US President Joe Biden has said to contribute an additional $ 250 million to this global pandemic fund at the G7 leaders’ summit held in Hiroshima, Japan.

On March 3, 2023, the Global Pandemic Fund released its initial Call for Proposals (CFP). The United States Agency for International Development recently announced that partners have given the Global Pandemic Fund a total of $166 million. In this, the US government has contributed $450 million.

Meanwhile, the threat of lumpy disease, which wreaks havoc on cattle in India, has resurfaced. As of May 18, there were 10,413 active cases of Lumpy disease in Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

According to a senior official, eight cities across the nation have been found to have this disease's infestation as of January 2023. But its infection has grown over the past few weeks. An extensive second round of vaccination campaigns has been started to stop the spread of infection. Animals received a total of 18.7 lakh doses as part of the second round of immunization beginning in January 2023.

Image source: Business Standard