Nishant Bhaiji
NEW DELHI: India has been commended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its investments in health emergency preparedness and response architecture, as well as its efforts to scale up networks for medical counter-measures and digital health.
Speaking at the second G20 Health Working Group meeting in Goa, Roderico Ofrin, WHO’s India representative, highlighted India’s position as a potential leader among G20 countries in these areas.
“It has been an exciting three days now. Focus on three agenda items, the health emergency preparedness and response architecture, a focus on how to scale up the networks for medical countermeasures and digital health. And in all these areas, India is very well-poised to lead the G20 countries. It has done investments in all three areas,” said Ofrin.
Exemplary efforts
He went on to praise India’s progress in these areas, stating that “New Delhi has not only invested in its health sector but also has scaled up in all these areas” and that the discussions at the meeting were “very rich”. Ofrin described India’s examples as “examples to the world”.
Unicef’s Senior Health Adviser and Chief of the Digital Health and Information Systems Unit, Karin Kallander, joined the chorus of global voices praising India’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Speaking at the meeting, Kallander lauded India’s use of technology to augment its vaccination efforts, saying that the country’s approach was “unique.”
Vaccine success
According to Kallander, India’s success can be attributed to its existing infrastructure and national policies. “The country was able to deploy not only the Covid vaccine to a huge number of people but also to use technology to augment that deployment and to be able to better deploy services and track the vaccine deployment,” she explained.
“And the reason why India was so successful is that there was already an infrastructure to start from. There were national policies in place, and there were data security policies, but many countries did not have that, so they were starting from scratch.”
India’s vaccination campaign has been one of the largest and most successful in the world, with over 700 million doses administered as of April 2023. The country has used a variety of innovative strategies to ensure vaccine access to its vast population, including mobile vaccination units and door-to-door campaigns. With its robust healthcare system and technological prowess, India has become a model for other countries looking to improve their vaccination efforts.
Health priorities
The second Health Working Group meeting under G20 India presidency brought together more than 180 delegates from 19 G20 member countries, 10 invited states and 22 international organisations. The event took place from April 17-19 in Goa.
The meeting discussed three priorities: Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness, and Response; Strengthening Cooperation in Pharmaceutical Sector for Access to Medical Countermeasures; and Digital Health Innovations for Universal Health Coverage. The meeting aimed to find solutions to pressing global health challenges and promote international cooperation.
