University of Sydney, PHFI Introduce Joint One Health Program

The significant investment in One Health Program sees the 15-year-old collaboration of the two institutes expanding from training health professionals to researching in the related field.

Study in Australia: University of Sydney has committed AU$100,000 towards research with the Public Health Foundation of India. The investment will allow the top researchers in India and Australia to work jointly on the serious health issues of the future such as the rise of infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance.

University of Sydney’s Associate Professor Shailendra Sawleshwarkar who has been affiliated with PHFI since 2009 said, “We bring world class strengths in multidisciplinary research to this relationship. It’s an approach that sees engineers, physicians, veterinarians and scientists working together to solve public health and One Health issues. PHFI’s capacity-building program is creating a generation of health professionals that is second to none. Combined with India’s excellent reputation in pharmaceutical manufacturing, the workforce being built by PHFI is making India a global force in public health.”

Professor van Oijen commented, “While the details of this program are yet to be finalised, this partnership will bring people with a breadth of knowledge to the table. Our expertise on the use of antibiotics in animals to pathogen genomics, One Health surveillance and the development of novel vaccines to treat increasingly prevalent diseases like Japanese encephalitis, are all highly complementary to the depth of public health experience at the Public Health Foundation of India”

“With wide ranging expertise including basic sciences, public health, animal health and clinical care, Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute is perfectly placed to work with global partners on One Health programs. In India, PHFI delivers the most relevant public health research and education programs,” added the professor.

Professor Zodpey commented, “This extension of our relationship will bring the strengths of our two organizations, and our two countries, together, providing the launching pad for what I hope will be an enduring partnership of global standing.”

University of Sydney, PHFI Partnership Details

The new initiative was formalized on September 7 in New Delhi by PHFI President Sanjay Zodpey and the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health.

The university’s delegation visited India to discuss how the two institutes can benefit from the One Health initiative that considers the health of animals, humans and the environment in unison.

The discussion was also attended by the representatives of Australia’s Investment New South Wales and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Indian organizations which attended the event included the World Health Organization's India Country Office, PATH, IIT Delhi, Centre for Disease Control, and the Indian Council of Medical Research.

This new investment is taking the 15-year relationship between the two partners to the next level and expanding it into research. The One Health Program will focus on four areas including continued training of the next generation of health professionals, antimicrobial resistance, innovation (including vaccine development), and disease surveillance.

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