Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the world must be ready to ‘prevent, prepare, and respond’ to the next global health emergency.

Addressing the G20 Health Ministers’ meeting in Gandhinagar, he also said that India is on its way to ‘eradicate tuberculosis well ahead of the 2030 target’.

“Time showed us the value of international cooperation, whether in medicine and vaccine deliveries or in bringing our people back home. As we saw during the pandemic, health issues in one part of the world can affect all other parts of the world in a very short time,” the PM said in his virtual address.

He pointed out that under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, India delivered 300 million vaccine doses to more than 100 countries. “There is a need for bolstering global health systems to anticipate, prepare, and respond to future health emergencies, together, as the world is interconnected today,” he said.

“Let us open our innovations for the good of the public. Let us avoid duplication of funding. Let us facilitate the equitable availability of technology,” Modi added.

Modi said this initiative will allow countries in the Global South to close the gap in healthcare delivery and will take us one step closer to our goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage. “In India, we are following a holistic and inclusive approach,” he further said.

The G20 meeting being held from August 17 to 19 is pivoted on three key priorities of the G20 Health Track, the first is prevention of global health emergencies, preparedness, and response – with a focus on antimicrobial resistance and the ‘One Health’ framework.

The second: strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on access and availability to safe, effective, quality, and affordable medical countermeasures. And, the third is digital health innovations and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve healthcare service.