New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Tuesday (April 18) stressed on collectively breaking the cycle of panic and not letting pandemic fatigue diminish the country’s efforts of preparedness against the coronavirus situation. In his keynote address at the concluding session of the second G20 Health Working Group Meeting, he said India’s G20 Presidency plans to continue the momentum brought during Italy and Indonesian presidency and consolidate the efforts made so far towards health emergencies preparedness, prevention and response.
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About the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the healthcare systems around the world, the Union minister said,
It is essential for us to collectively break the cycle of panic and neglect and not let the phenomenon of pandemic fatigue diminish our ongoing efforts on pandemic preparedness, prevention and response.
He also highlighted the need for a formal global coordination mechanism for medical countermeasures and noted that India has proposed the agenda of digital health and innovation to promote the use of technology in health service delivery, bridging the digital divide across the world and promoting digital public good.
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Dr Mandaviya said,
As G20 Health Working Group, we are heading in the right direction toward jointly creating a positive impact for future global health architecture.
Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar reiterated that the fulcrum of India’s G20 Presidency lies in the ancient Indian philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (World Is One Family) and emphasized creating resilient healthcare systems that ensure equitable access to affordable and quality healthcare to people across national borders.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan highlighted the need for an integrated global health framework through the approach of ‘One Health’ and the need to counter the challenge of antimicrobial resistance.
He urged everyone to continue their discussions to collectively work towards ensuring universal health coverage.
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(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.
