New Delhi: India is playing a key role globally in the development of vaccines, manufacturing of drugs, diagnostics and therapeutics, WHO chief scientist Jeremy Farrar said on Tuesday. Dr Farrar, who is attending the third G20 Health Working Group meeting here, said,
India is playing a key role globally in science, technology, development of vaccines, manufacturing of drugs, diagnostics and therapeutics.
He further said,
An enormous praise to India for the way they’ve handled the G20. The world is a very complicated place at the moment. It’s tense and we’ve all lived through the last three years of a horrific pandemic. India played an absolutely critical role in science and technology, development of vaccines, manufacturing of drugs and diagnostics and therapeutics and played a key role globally.
Dr Farrar said that two main things that are bringing the countries at the G20 meet here together are digital health initiatives, and science & technology, research and development and manufacturing. He added,
Bringing all these countries together has been about particularly two areas. One is around the Digital Health Initiative, in which I think India has played the key role in ensuring that digital health can reach everybody in the world, universal health coverage primary care and making sure we live in a more equitable world in the future. And the second is around science, technology research, development and manufacturing. And I think the progress we’ve made here in the last few days to make sure that we have a future with inevitable pandemics where we have more equitable access to the countermeasures.
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The third G20 Health Working Group meeting is being held in Hyderabad from June 4 to 6. He added,
We need drugs, diagnostics, vaccines and India along with partners in the G20. can provide that for the world and we still give India a great many thanks for that.
(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.
