Pandemic policy must be a defining part of health policy, says Indian union health minister

New Delhi: Pandemic policy must be a defining part of health policy as any health crisis today leads to an economic crisis due to the multisectoral nature of our inter-connected world, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar said on Wednesday. Addressing 1st G20 ‘Health Working Group’ meeting at Thiruvananthapuram, the minister said that learnings must form the agenda for our preparedness and response together Dr Pawar noted that pandemic prevention, preparedness and response require diverse multi-sectoral, multi-agency coordinate efforts. She emphasized on the need for strengthening and empowering communities to become resilient to future health emergencies The minister also underscored the importance of building resilient health systems and investing in lifesaving vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. Highlighting India’s strong culture of medical practices and innovation, S V Muraleedharan noted that Prime Minister’s clarion call for “One Earth, One Family, One Future” is pro-planet approach, one that is in harmony with nature for an increasingly globalized world. Muraleedharan also emphasized the need to aligning agenda for preparedness and response together to be able to effectively meet any health emergencies. “We should be prepared to collectively meet any health challenges in the future,” he said. Speaking on the occasion union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan highlighted India’s aim to achieve convergence in discussions across various multilateral fora engaged in health cooperation. He reiterated three priorities for the ‘G20 Health Track’ namely, health emergencies prevention, preparedness and response, strengthening cooperation in pharmaceutical sector with focus on access and availability to safe, effective, quality and affordable medical countermeasures (vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics), digital health innovations and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve healthcare service delivery. India has supplied 983.068 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine to 94 countries and two United Nations entities in the form of grant, commercial export or through COVAX till December 15 since the start of Vaccine Maitri programme in January, 2021. The country supplied COVID-19 related medical and other assistance to over 150 countries since the beginning of the pandemic, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.