Threat of pandemics far from over: Minister Bharati Pawar
The partnership we share as G-20 members is vital and facilitates in building trust, sharing knowledge, creating networks and working together to achieve meaningful impact and results
HYDERABAD: The threat of pandemics is far from over and the current need is to integrate surveillance systems of countries under the “One Health” framework and strengthen it, Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said on Sunday.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that partnerships are most fruitful only when developed during peacetime and not amidst an ongoing pandemic, and that we need to focus on creating resilient health systems, with primary health as its cornerstone,” Pawar said in her address at the third G-20 Health Working Group meeting here.
G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, S P Singh Baghel, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, and Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, were present on the occasion.
Pawar further stated that the “partnership we share as G-20 members is vital and facilitates in building trust, sharing knowledge, creating networks and working together to achieve meaningful impact and results.”
Pawar also highlighted the need for availability of safe, effective and quality medical countermeasures. Stating that India’s G-20 presidency is working towards building consensus for an end-to-end global medical countermeasure ecosystem, following a network of networks approach and leveraging existing global and regional initiatives, Pawar urged the leadership of G-20 countries to create an interim platform which will be guided by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) process and will feed into the same.
“Pandemics may not wait for the finalization of the Pandemic Treaty and hence, the time to act is now,” she stated.
Pawar also informed the delegates of India’s proposal of a global initiative on digital health, a WHO-managed network to converge ongoing initiatives in use of technology in the global health arena.
Underscoring the contribution of Indian traditional knowledge systems to healthcare, G Kishan Reddy stated that “Indian traditional knowledge system propagated preventive and holistic wellbeing for all.” He highlighted the significant impact of ayurveda and yoga across the world. He stated that “Indian civilization and cultural heritage have given us ayurveda or the science of lives which is a five-thousandyear-old medical practice. Similarly, yoga has emerged as one of the most trusted practices to boost both physical and mental wellbeing.”
Highlighting the vision of Prime Minister to make India one of the new hubs of medical value travel, the Union tourism minister said that India is home to affordable, efficient and reliable healthcare which positions the country as a go-to destination for medical value travel.