World must be ready for next health scare: PM

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the world must be ready to "prevent, prepare and respond" to the next global health emergency and urged to open innovations for the benefit of the public in general.

- KAVITA BAJELI-DATT / DILIP SINGH KSHATRIYA

Addressing the G20 Health Ministers' meet in Gandhinagar, he also that India is on its way to "eradicate tuberculosis well ahead of the 2030 target." He underlined that the Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us that health should be at the center of our decisions.

"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 prime minister 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, including many in the Global South.