G20 HEALTH MINISTERS MEETING

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Context:  Union Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizer Minister virtually addressed the inaugural session at the G20 Health Ministers meeting at Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

More on the news:

• Indonesia has hosted two Health Working Group Meetings in Yogyakarta and Lombok wherein priority issues of ‘Harmonizing Global Health Protocol Standards’ and ‘Building Global Health System Resilience’ were discussed and deliberated upon.
• Dr Mansukh Mandaviya also thanked the Indonesian Presidency for prioritizing the issue of TB and One Health in the meeting and conducting events for the same. India has pledged to End TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global SDG target of 2030.
• The present pandemic has highlighted the fault lines in the global health governance and has brought to the fore the importance of strengthening Global Health Architecture. It has reinforced the need to assess health ecosystems, health financing and their linkages in light of the experience in managing the current pandemic.
• He also suggested G20 members for an institutional framework to enable rapid sharing of genome sequencing data along with a neutral & aggregate data-sharing model amongst countries. This could be done across multiple pathogens with equitable benefit sharing under the framework of the Nagoya protocol.
• Union Health Minister advocated for an inclusive, agile and responsive framework for health emergency management, supported by a global mechanism of surveillance, sustainable financing and equitable distribution of medical countermeasures.
• G20 countries account for 80% of the world’s GDP and share 80% of global cross-border trade and hence G20’s engagement and leadership will be vital to strengthen the global health architecture and management of any future health emergencies.
• He also reemphasized the urgent need for bringing transparency and accountability in WHO functioning so as to make WHO ‘fit for purpose’ beside the need to work towards the financial sustainability of WHO.
• He finally stressed upon the need for global cooperation and urged members that “global health resilience must be created by working towards mutual recognition of vaccine credentials to aid seamless cross-border travel, and the need for expanding research network, m-RNA manufacturing hubs and distributed manufacturing of medical countermeasures with particular focus on the global south.

India’s G20 Presidency:

India will steer the international body as its President from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023.

About G-20:

• It is the premier forum for international economic cooperation, which reflects a recognition that global prosperity is interdependent and our economic opportunities and challenges are interlinked.
• G20 countries have come together to better prepare for the future.
• As a founding member of the G20, India has used the platform to raise issues of vital importance and those that impact on the most vulnerable around the world.
• Apart from the G7 countries, the G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey.
• Together, the G20 countries make up around 80% of the world’s economy and two-thirds of the world’s population.

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1835583