New Delhi [India], June 6 : On the second day of G20 health working group meeting in Telangana's Hyderabad, Director, Digital Health and Innovation, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Alain Labrique said that it was time to learn from countries like India to accelerate progress towards leveraging universal health coverage.
Dr Labrique said, "We are at the verge of an important digital health revolution globally, where post pandemic, the appetite for investing in digital technologies is greater than it ever has been. So the time is now to learn from successes like India and its neighbours to apply those successful lessons and really accelerate our progress towards leveraging universal health coverage, amplifying the capacity of digital tools to achieve these goals."
"This has been a really fruitful set of discussions around the G20building on India's long leadership in the space of digital innovation and leveraging digital technologies to achieve health for all," he added.
He further appreciated India for innovation in digital technologies to achieve health for all.
He said, "I think what we're trying to do is level the playing field making sure that these technologies are available widely for countries all across the globe looking to undertake a process of digital health transformation, to make sure that we're able to reach the last mile with quality assured technologies that can deliver the services that people are expecting from their governments."
On Monday, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Bhagwant Khuba delivered the inaugural address at a side event of the third G20 Health Working Group Meeting, titled, "Strengthening Global Collaboration Network on Research and Development in Medical Countermeasures (Diagnostics, Vaccines and Therapeutics) with a focus on Future Health Emergencies".
He was also joined by Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog.
The purpose of the event was to reinforce the second priority of India's G20 Presidency, which is to strengthen cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on access and availability of quality, effective, safe, and affordable medical countermeasures (MCM).
Given the importance of focusing equally on each component of the Vaccine, Therapeutics, and Diagnostics (VTD) value chains, India's G20 Presidency has been discussing how to coordinate the various aspects of the upstream and downstream facets of the MCM ecosystem.
Addressing the gathering, Khuba emphasized the need to strengthen existing health architectures and be better prepared for responding to recurring outbreaks and future pandemics. He said that "countries worldwide have come to realize the importance of research and development collaboration in providing novel solutions to emerging health challenges."
He stated that collaborative research enables the pooling of expertise and resources from multiple disciplines and institutions, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of diseases and the development of more effective VTDs.
He said, "Engaging with global health organizations and stakeholders for research and development collaboration would facilitate coordinated resource allocation, ensuring that resources such as funding, medical supplies, personnel, and information are distributed effectively and efficiently. By aligning priorities, duplication of efforts can be minimized, and resources can be directed to areas and populations most in need".
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