Third G20 Health Working Group meeting to voice challenges of Global South, says official


PTI | Hyderabad | Updated: 03-06-2023 20:31 IST | Created: 03-06-2023 20:29 IST
Third G20 Health Working Group meeting to voice challenges of Global South, says official
Image Credit: Twitter(@MoHFW_INDIA)
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The third G20 Health Working Group meeting under India's presidency will voice the Global South's challenges and contribute to establishing regional networks catering to vaccine therapeutics, research and manufacturing networks, and creation of a global medical countermeasures coordination platform, government officials said on Saturday.

India has proposed setting up a medical countermeasure coordination platform that will help set norms, standards and basis for common global public good and equity.

Besides, India has suggested setting up a dedicated fund for strengthening global application of digital health.

The third G20 Health Working Group meeting under India's presidency will be held here from June 4-6.

The side events of the meeting will highlight research and innovation in the health sector, including pharma, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, Lav Agarwal, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told reporters here.

Agarwal said this G20 presidency presents a unique opportunity to voice the concerns of the Global South as the predecessor (Indonesia) and successor (Brazil) of India in the G20 troika are developing countries which will further highlight and reinforce the challenges facing the Global South.

Elaborating on the G20 health priorities, he said India's G20 presidency focuses on health emergency prevention, preparedness and response with a focus on anti-microbial resistance and one health framework, strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on access and availability to safe and effective medical countermeasures (vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics) as well as digital health innovations and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve healthcare service delivery.

Co-branded events and side events will be hosted for each health working group meeting with a focus on an emerging aspect in the health sector such as the medical value travel, impact of climate change on health, and application and relevance of traditional medicine in the health sector today.

Agarwal said the deliverables of India's presidency, particularly as the voice of the Global South, will contribute to establishing regional networks catering to vaccine therapeutics, diagnostics, research, and manufacturing networks and the creation of a global medical countermeasures coordination platform.

Highlighting the initiatives of CoWIN and Vaccine Maitri, he said India has contributed significantly to addressing the global requirements.

''These collective initiatives serve to ensure that health services are within the reach of the poor man,'' he said.

''India has garnered in-principal agreement on the three proposed priorities and seeks to build global convergence on an agile, aligned global health architecture,'' he added.

Agarwal said 180 members, 10 invited countries and 22 international organisations will participate in the third G20 Health Working Group Meeting.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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