HWG meet calls for boosting pandemic policy as part of overall health blueprint

Union Minister of State Bharati Pravin Pawar addresses at the first Health Working Group meeting under G20 India presidency in Thiruvananthapuram Wednesday. Union Minister V. Muraleedharan is also seen.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Pandemic policy should become a defining part of a nation’s health policy as any health crisis can be followed by an economic crisis, Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, has said.

Delivering the keynote address at the opening session of the first Health Working Group (HWG) meeting under India’s G20 presidency here on Wednesday, she said pandemic prevention, preparedness and response required multi-sectoral, multi-agency coordinated efforts and that building resilience within communities and empowering them to meet future health emergencies would be the key to pandemic preparedness.

While COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic, the learnings from the health crisis that all nations went through should be the foundation on which resilient health systems should be built to meet any future health emergencies, she said.

Addressing the gathering, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan said the modern Kerala model of health system evolved from the strong foundation of social renaissance led by social reformers such as Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swamikal and St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara who put much emphasis on education and health.

He said that it was only apt that Kerala, and Thiruvananthapuram in particular, had been chosen to host the HWG1 meeting because the State had a strong public health tradition which dates back to the pre-Independence era.

Mr. Muraleedharan recollected a piece of history, that as early as 1813, a vaccination wing to inoculate people against smallpox was established in Thiruvananthapuram by the ruler of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore Rani Gouri Lakshmi Bai. When the people seemed to fear vaccination, Ms. Gouri Lakshmi Bai allayed their apprehensions by taking the lead to vaccinate all members of the royal family first. Such was the legacy of Kerala in public health, he added.

Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, highlighted India’s aim as chair of the G20 presidency to achieve convergence in discussions on health cooperation. He detailed the priorities for the G20 Health Track, namely, health emergencies prevention; preparedness and response (with focus on One Health & AMR); strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with 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.

The Indonesian and Brazilian G20 Troika members commended the Indian presidency for “the well-chosen health agenda.” They pointed out that the pandemic had given an opportunity to all nations to strengthen their health systems and work harder towards the goal of universal health coverage.

Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research; Lav Agarwal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Abhay Thakur, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, representatives from the G20 member countries, special invitee countries and international organisations were among those present.