G20 Delegates Visit Jan Aushadhi Kendra, Many Want To Emulate It In Their Country: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

Panaji: A visit to a Jan Aushadhi Kendra has piqued the interest of the delegates at the G20 Health Working Group meeting here with Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Tuesday (April 18) saying that some of them have expressed their desire to emulate it in their country for which India will provide all possible help. Dr Mandaviya, who took 10 delegates to the Jan Aushadhi Kendra, explained to them how the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana ensures access to quality and affordable medicines for the people in every nook and corner of the country.

Also Read: How India Is Reiterating Its Commitments Towards Ensuring ‘Health For All’

Underlining that India never linked health with commerce, the Union health minister said that over 9,500 Jan Aushadhi Kendras are operational in the country.

Dr Mandaviya said,

The delegates who came to the G20 (Health Working Group meeting) visited the Jan Aushadhi Kendra and took detailed information about this public welfare project. Some of them want to implement this scheme in their country as well. India will provide all possible help to them in this regard.

Vinod Menon, the in-charge of the Jan Aushadhi Kendra in Panaji, said the delegates wanted to know from him the entire process — from manufacturing to distribution of medicines to all the centres all around India.

Mr Menon said,

They wanted to know from where the medicines are procured by the government or are manufactured and how these are delivered to different centres. They were also interested in the software through which the stock and sale of the drugs are tracked.

Also Read: Healthcare Should Be Accessible And Affordable: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

Oluchi Ezeajughi, a delegate from Nigeria, said,

I think it’s a wonderful initiative that the government is thinking of how to bring healthcare closer to the common people and make it more affordable. It is a laudable initiative to help the population lead a healthy life. It can be emulated in other countries. We will take the idea and go back to our country and perhaps see how we can implement something like this in our healthcare system.

Tracey Julie Mcneill, from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, termed the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana an “impressive” initiative and said it is a kind of model that can be replicated in other countries to make medicines affordable and accessible for people.

Dr Mandaviya along with the delegates also visited a health and wellness centre in Corlim where he distributed nutrition kits (“Poshan Potli”) among tuberculosis patients. Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar, who also accompanied him, distributed eyeglasses to children under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram.

Also Read: Moving Towards A Healthier India: Biggest Game Changers In Health In 75 Years

UNICEF India’s chief of health Luigi d’Aquino said,

I have seen amazing progress in the four years that I have spent in this country when it comes to children. Fewer children are dying and babies are surviving… Most of the babies are immunised. So there is a lot of progress and it is visible to the world.

The second Health Working Group meeting under India’s G20 presidency will conclude on April 19. More than 180 delegates from 19 G20 member countries, 10 invited states and 22 international organisations are participating in it.

India’s G20 Presidency has prioritized three areas of health which include health emergencies prevention, preparedness, and response with a focus on one-health and antimicrobial resistance; strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector; and digital health innovations and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve healthcare service delivery.

Also Read: Health For All: Building A Swasth India With Technological Innovations In Healthcare

(Except for the headline, 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.