G20 is an opportunity to showcase India’s health innovations globally: Experts

Health experts came together at the strategic roundtable, organised by the health think tank, IHW Council and discussed about the need of, mitigating the aftermaths of the pandemic by building sustainable and resilient health infrastructures and to leverage on the opportunities of using G20 chair to initiate discussions on holistic health at the global level

Public Health professionals all over the country unanimously agreed that the passing of the G20 Presidency to India for the year 2023 is a great opportunity for the country to emerge healthcare leader and also propagate ancient traditional wellbeing practises at the international level. Health experts came together at the strategic roundtable, organised by the health think tank, IHW Council and discussed about the need of, mitigating the aftermaths of the pandemic by building sustainable and resilient health infrastructures and to leverage on the opportunities of using G20 chair to initiate discussions on holistic health at the global level.

Speaking on the occasion, Lov Verma, Former Health Secretary, Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India said that, “G20 Presidency is an exciting opportunity for India and it should be utilised to showcase India’s pathbreaking health achievements specifically on the use of technology during the pandemic”.

The roundtable witnessed deliberations on the Global South Asia emerging as healthcare leaders and India providing the much-needed impetus for accelerating the process of thought leadership in healthcare.

Dr Sanjiv Kumar, Member, Governing Board, National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, remarked that, “The whole earth is one family as seen during the pandemic and this should be the message propagated in India’s Presidency in 2023”. He further emphasised that Primary healthcare is the cornerstone of healthy nations and the platform of G20 should be used to bring focus on it”.

Dr K Madan Gopal ,Senior Consultant Health, NITI Aayog, said “G20 is an opportunity to raise awareness on the social determinants of health and we need to harness health infrastructures and regulations to ensure healthier populations”.

The speakers also pointed out that the theme of 2023 Presidency “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, should be used to strive for health equity while ensuring good health for the most vulnerable nations and population.

While taking part in the discussion, Kamal Narayan, CEO of IHW Council observed that India can give a collective call towards a new paradigm of inclusive, accessible and comprehensive health systems for accelerating and amplifying the discourse around global health, while leaving no one behind, in its presidency year.