‘World needs to work together to develop an effective vaccine against Covid-19,’ says Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said that the world needs to work together to develop an effective vaccine against Covid-19. Talking about the Covid-19 pandemic, he said that the world needs to work together as one with greater cooperation to ensure equitable access to the latest diagnostic and treatment options to eliminate this disease. India is the only country in the world to have developed its own mechanism for estimating its TB burden, Mandaviya said. In his address at the Quad Plus side event on Tuberculosis during the 76th World Health Assembly being held in Geneva, Dr Mandaviya said that India striving to eliminate TB from the country by 2025, five years ahead of the global Sustainable Development Goal. “To achieve the UN High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) targets for ending TB by 2030, we must find patient-centric innovative approaches to prevent, diagnose, and treat TB,” he said, adding that India is committed to sharing its learnings with the world and learn from other contexts as well.” The event witnessed the participation of distinguished delegates from Quad Plus countries, reinforcing the commitment to tackle the global health challenge posed by TB. Highlighting India’s proactive response to the TB epidemic, Dr Mandaviya said “This year, we observed World TB Day at the One World TB Summit in India essentially highlighting the ethos of One World, One Health that our Hon’ble Prime Minister strongly believes in.” He said that India is the only country in the world to have developed its own mechanism for estimating its TB burden.

Addressed side event "TB QUAD+ Together we Fight against TB" in Geneva.

Highlighted various initiatives of 🇮🇳 to eliminate TB by 2025.

Also, called for exploring patient-centred & innovative approaches for TB prevention, diagnosis, & treatment to end TB globally by 2030. pic.twitter.com/TPROacRSOV

— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) May 25, 2023

Dr Mandaviya also emphasized the significance of the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis, scheduled for September, as an opportunity to evaluate the collective progress made towards ending TB. India has witnessed a 13 per cent reduction in TB incidence from 2015 to 2022, surpassing the global reduction rate of 10 per cent, he said, adding that additionally, TB mortality in India has decreased by 15 per cent during the same period, compared to the global reduction rate of 5.9 per cent. Recognizing the importance of early diagnosis, treatment, and preventive measures, Mandaviya said, “To identify all missing cases and reach the ‘unreached’, India has taken diagnostics and treatment to the patients at the last mile under the visionary leadership of our Prime Minister. “We have established over 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres which provide TB diagnostics and care to all patients, along with a host of other primary healthcare services. This has been especially beneficial to people residing in hard-to-reach areas of our country, ensuring universal health coverage even in remote areas,” he said. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.