Nagasaki: Highlighting the need for collaborative efforts to ensure global health security, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday (May 13) said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the fault lines in existing global health architecture to the forefront, emphasizing the need for a more robust, inclusive and responsive system. Dr. Mandaviya addressed the G7 Health Ministerial meeting on Global Health Architecture in Nagasaki, Japan on Saturday.
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The meeting was held to discuss global health challenges and ways to ensure preparedness, prevention and response to future health emergencies. Health Ministers of the G7 countries and invited “Outreach 4” countries of India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand were present at the meeting.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Mandaviya said when it comes to managing any health emergency, any country’s national health system is heavily dependent on the global health system.
He highlighted that
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the fault lines in existing Global Health Architecture, emphasizing the need for a more robust, inclusive and responsive Global Health Architecture, while maintaining the centrality of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dr. Mandaviya cautioned against fragmented and siloed efforts in addressing the challenges faced by the world and underlined the need for collaborative efforts to ensure global health security including a specific focus on promoting health equity.
He noted that while multiple global efforts are underway, there is a need to ensure the convergence of these ongoing initiatives. On this note, he appreciated that the health agendas under the G20 India Presidency and the G7 Japan Presidency are perfectly aligned which have collectively prioritized health emergency preparedness, access to medical countermeasures and digital health to achieve universal health coverage and innovation.
Dr. Mandaviya also emphasised on the role of digital solutions and the use of technology in ensuring continuity of care amidst multiple challenges posed by the pandemic. He stated,
Bridging digital divide through the promotion of Digital Public Goods to support health service delivery is critical to ensure that fruits of technology are made available to all and to aid and augment health response capacities.
On India’s G20 Presidency, the Union Health Minister informed that priority has been given towards building consensus for converging global efforts to address any health emergencies and ensure the availability of medical countermeasures to all the countries during any health emergency, with specific focus on affordability and ensuring equitable availability.
He also voiced his concern on the high level of global inequity in access to medical countermeasures by highlighting that the COVID-19 vaccination programme started in December 2020, but even after more than 2 years, only 34 per cent of the population in low-and-middle-income countries has access to COVID-19 vaccination, compared to 73 per cent in high-income countries as on April 2023.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
