The first Health Working Group meeting under G20 India Presidency will commence in Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare held a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram to brief about the three-day-long G20 Health Working Group meeting to be held between January 18 and 20.
In a significant milestone, India assumed the presidency of the G20 on December 1, 2022. India is currently part of the G20 Troika comprising Indonesia, India and Brazil, marking the first time that the troika features three developing and emerging economies.
The Union Health Ministry said India plans to host a side event along with each HWG meeting to enrich, supplement and support G20 discussions. These include side events on Medical Value Travel and Digital Health; a workshop on collaborative research on drugs, diagnostics and vaccines, and a co-branded event on Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.
The side event on Medical Value Travel will be held on the sidelines of the first meeting of HWG at Thiruvananthapuram. As chair of the G20 Presidency, India aims to continue and consolidate health priorities and key takeaways from previous presidencies while highlighting critical areas that require strengthening.
India also aims to achieve convergence in discussions across various multilateral fora engaged in health cooperation and work towards integrated action.
To this end, Health Ministry said India has identified three priorities for the G20 Health Track including Health emergencies prevention, preparedness and response; strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on access and availability to safe, effective, quality and affordable medical countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics); and Digital Health innovations and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve healthcare service delivery.
On health emergencies prevention and preparedness and response, the Union Health Ministry said India will aim to play a major role in converging discussions in multiple forums for Global Health Architecture and act as an enabler for reducing fragmentation and duplication. India will also aim to play a proactive role in representing the Global South in the negotiations across multilateral global health platforms.
Emphasising on strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector, the Health Ministry said India is known as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’. India will be able to utilise the agenda to promote distributed manufacturing of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics globally so as to manage future health emergencies. The country has exported drugs and vaccines to over 150 countries globally during the pandemic.
Presently, the availability of medical countermeasures is being linked to national security and India can ensure playing a proactive role in ensuring health security for Global South and LMICs (Low and Low Middle Income Countries).
On Digital Health Innovation and Solutions, the Union Health Ministry said India already has an established leadership position in Digital Health. Digital Health Resolution in the 71st World Health Assembly was moved by India and endorsed by the world.
The Ministry said India has been the Chair of the Global Digital Health Partnership, the largest inter-governmental body (33 countries as members) for Digital Health.
The use of Digital Health solutions such as Co-WIN, Telemedicine and the Covid-19 India platform highlighted the advantages of data-driven insights and the use of technology for accessibility, ease of availability and affordability in health service delivery, said the Ministry.
The Health Track of the G20 India Presidency will comprise four Health Working Group (HWG) meetings and one Health Ministerial Meeting (HMM). The meetings will be held in different locations across the country, including Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Goa, Hyderabad (Telangana) and Gandhinagar (Gujarat), highlighting India’s rich and diverse cultures.
Thematic discussions related to the above priorities will be held across the HWG meetings. The meeting will be attended by representatives of G20 member countries, special invitee countries and relevant international organisations.