India has identified three health priorities under G20: WHO Regional Director
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh thanked India for identifying three major health priorities that aim to strengthen the global health infrastructure, deliver health and provide universal health coverage.
The Regional Director of World Health Organisation's Southeast Asia, Dr Poonal Khetrapal Singh, on Wednesday, said that India’s philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: One Earth, One Family, One Future’ is a clarion call to the world for the need to collectively work together, to build a better future for our health and the health of our planet.
Ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit, held in New Delhi on September 9-10, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh thanked India for identifying three major health priorities that aim to strengthen the global health infrastructure, deliver health and provide universal health coverage.
The first is digital health – the future of health.
“India's G20 Presidency focuses on consolidating the existing digital health initiatives and fostering equity in healthcare by amplifying efforts to incorporate tools such as telemedicine and artificial intelligence,” said Dr Singh.
Last month, the WHO and the G20 under India’s Presidency launched a new Global Initiative on Digital Health which aims to support this transformation.
The WHO Regional Director highlighted that the second health priority for this year’s G20 Leader’s Summit is focusing on preparing for the health crisis – antimicrobial resistance, which has been dubbed as a silent pandemic by experts.
Under India’s presidency, the G20 has prioritised strengthening health emergency preparedness and response with a focus on antimicrobial resistance and One Health Framework, which recognises the interconnection between people, animals and plants and their shared environment to withstand future shocks. Not just from infectious diseases but all types of health hazards, added Dr Singh.
The WHO Regional Director stated that the third health priority aims to strengthen cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on ensuring availability and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable medical countermeasures like vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
Towards this, Dr Singh said that the G20 Health Ministers during a meeting in Gandhinagar, India, last month, extended their support for a WHO-led inclusive consultative process for the development of an interim medical countermeasures coordination mechanism.
“We live in an increasingly interconnected world,” said Dr Singh.
The G20 summit will be hosted at the Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi between September 9 and 10.
(With inputs by news agency ANI)