World News | MoS Bharati Pawar chairs 6th SCO health ministers meeting

New Delhi [India]May 12 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar chaired the sixth meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States’ Health Ministers’ Meeting here today, which was held virtually.

Ayush Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal delivered the keynote address. The meeting was attended by high-level stakeholders and partners including health ministers of all SCO member states, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming.

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India organized several consultation and negotiation sessions during its SCO presidency, including health expert working group meetings and four side events.

In his welcoming remarks, Bharati Pravin Pawar highlighted the efforts of all SCO member states, noting that the discussions will help bring the world one step closer to achieving universal health coverage.

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She welcomed all the delegates, noting that the meeting embodies India’s ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ philosophy that ‘the whole world is one family’.

Bharati Pawar said that the collective efforts of the SCO to make long-term positive impacts for the benefit of human well-being will safeguard the health and safety of citizens, elevate global health to the top priority of economic development, and form a unity to tackle challenges front.

Dr. Pawar highlighted the unprecedented challenges COVID-19 has posed to the global healthcare landscape, emphasizing the need for a unified approach and global collaboration to mitigate its impact.

“Despite challenging times, our coming together today in solidarity and mutual commitment is a testament to our dedication and resilience,” she said.

She further pointed out that “establishing a strong surveillance system for early detection of health emergencies, promoting cooperative research and development, and production of medical countermeasures among SCO countries are important steps to achieve these goals”.

The Union Minister highlighted the role of technology in improving the delivery of last-mile healthcare services, stating that “digital health interventions can bridge existing gaps between different stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem. Sharing digital public goods among SCO countries will help to achieve the goal of universal health coverage through the use of technological advances in health delivery”.

Regarding the need to address the burden of NCDs, Dr. Pawar emphasized that “SCO member states need to address holistic NCD management through lifestyle changes, behavioral changes, and integration of NCD services at all levels of healthcare facilities. Prevention, promotion and treatment of noncommunicable diseases”.

Pawar also urged SCO member states to recognize the potential of medical value travel in promoting and exploring intra-regional cooperation and exchange of best practices.

She also informed the participants that the establishment of the Global Center for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) by the World Health Organization (WHO) in India aims to facilitate the joint efforts of SCO member states in utilizing modern and traditional medical systems.

AYUSH Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urged SCO members to work together to recognize the potential of medical value travel in promoting and exploring intra-regional cooperation and exchange of best practices.

He added that embracing modern technology while preserving traditional systems will provide a holistic treatment experience for patients in the region.

He noted that the concept of “One Health” has gained a lot of attention in the past 3-4 years. He states that “a holistic approach that considers the health and well-being of humans and entire ecosystems, including animals, plants, soil, air, water, weather, etc., was explained in ancient philosophies and adopted in different medical Systems are important in addressing One Health.

Shri Sarbananda Sonowal highlighted the rich heritage of Indian traditional medical systems, saying that “traditional medical systems like Ayurveda are important forms of holistic and people-centred healthcare systems”.

He informed that WHO is encouraging member states to develop favorable policies and regulations to promote, regulate and integrate traditional medicine systems while ensuring their safety and quality.

“Ayurveda and yoga are traditional Indian systems of medicine and wellness that have gained popularity around the world and are used by people to improve their health,” he said.

Tedros Ghebreyesus emphasized that parallel processes are underway to address critical gaps in international health regulations. He urged member states to view health as an investment rather than a cost, and emphasized transforming global health infrastructure to prepare for future health emergencies.

S Gopalakrishnan, Special Secretary, Ministry of Health, detailed the side events held during India’s presidency where subject matter experts considered key health priorities identified during India’s presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Experts agreed on a broad framework of activities for coordination and cooperation among SCO member states, he said.

India holds the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – a regional intergovernmental organization comprising 42% of the world’s population, 22% of its land area, and 20% of global GDP, comprising eight member states (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan).

The theme of India’s SCO presidency is to create a lasting positive impact on the well-being of humanity and work together to build a “secure SCO”.

To this end, India’s health priorities for the SCO include health emergency prevention, preparedness and response, digital health, non-communicable diseases and travel of medical value.

These priorities are also aligned with India’s G20 presidency as it aims to achieve consensus in discussions in various multilateral fora where it engages in health cooperation.

During the meeting, officials had a fruitful discussion on the health priorities India had identified for its presidency. The focus remains on topics such as the global health architecture for health emergency prevention, preparedness and response; digital health; strengthening national surveillance and surveillance systems; working with multiple stakeholders to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases; Travel of medical value between countries, increasing access to affordable and quality medical care.

This was followed by the intervention of health ministers from all SCO member states, who supported India’s ambitious and action-oriented agenda, while expressing their desire to adopt the SCO declaration.

At the end of the meeting, the member states adopted the Final Statement of the Sixth Health Ministers’ Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The declaration will lay the groundwork for health cooperation and partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals that promote the health and well-being of SCO member states.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar concluded the meeting by quoting the words of the esteemed Prime Minister, “Unity is our greatest strength, and expressed the hope that SCO countries will be educators of shared commitment to promote regional cooperation to achieve common goals And to create a world in which all people can live in equality and dignity and free from disease.” (Ani)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)