From Training Students to Influencing Policy: OHNI at IAPSMCON 2026

Each year, thousands of public health professionals across India gather at IAPSMCON — the Annual National Conference of the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine — to share research, debate ideas, and shape the direction of public health practice. In 2026, the One Health Network of India (OHNI) brought its work to this stage and used it to show what happens when training students becomes just the beginning.

51 Students, over 2,500 Reached

In 2025, OHNI launched the Summer One Health School Program (SOHSP) — a residential training held at the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, supported by Chevron through the Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN). Fifty-one students from public health, veterinary science, and community medicine participated. After completing the program, they became One Health Ambassadors and trained peers at their own institutions. Within months, they had reached over 2,500 students across the country.

Bringing the Work to the Right Room

Good results only create change when they reach people who can act on them. IAPSMCON draws doctors, researchers, professors, and government-linked experts — many of whom advise health programs or sit on technical committees connected to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This made it the right place to present SOHSP.

OHNI engaged conference participants through three channels. An exhibition stall introduced attendees to the program's structure and outcomes and drew consistent interest throughout the event. An interactive One Health-themed game gave visitors a hands-on way to engage with core concepts.

A pre-conference workshop, "Interconnected Futures: One Health Solutions for a Changing World," brought together 33 participants to explore practical applications of the One Health approach — covering emerging diseases, outbreak response, and integrated disease surveillance. A plenary session, "One Health – One World – One Future: Towards Developed India@2047 for Healthier India," further opened discussion on how collaboration across human, animal, and environmental health sectors strengthens disease prevention and preparedness.

Why It Matters

OHNI's presence at IAPSMCON served three clear purposes: building credibility by presenting its work in a scientific national forum; expanding reach by connecting with institutions that could adopt similar models; and entering policy conversations at the national level.

By presenting a tested, scalable model in front of experts who help design health systems, OHNI positioned SOHSP as a practical contribution to India's wider agenda on disease surveillance and One Health integration — not just a training program, but a model worth scaling.