Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that low and middle-income nations in the Global South faced “denial of resources” during the Covid-19 pandemicю
On Wednesday, Modi delievered a keynote address at the inauguration of the sixth edition of ‘One Earth One Health – Advantage Healthcare India 2023’ Summit in New Delhi.
“True progress is people-centric. No matter how many advances are made in medical science, access must be assured to the last person at the last mile”, Modi stated.
He elaborated that many nations in the Global South were in need of a “trusted partner” in the healthcare domain, adding that New Delhi has demonstrated “capability and committed” during the Covid pandemic to be a reliable partner.
The Prime Minister recalled that New Delhi ran the “world’s largest and fastest” vaccination drive (Vaccine Maitri) and supplied over 300 million vaccine doses to countries across the world.
Before that, New Delhi’s Covid vaccination efforts suffered a setback of sorts in April-May 2021, at the peak of the second Covid wave, as it struggled to inoculate its citizens. As India witnessed an average daily caseload of 300,000, it was refused vaccine raw materials and jabs by the Biden administration.
Modi Highlights India’s Strengths in the Healthcare Sector
According to the Indian PM, establishing a “resilient global healthcare system” was one of the priorities of India’s ongoing G-20 presidency.
He outlined India’s “talent, technology, track-record and tradition” as some of the strengths which could contribute to creating a global healthcare model.
As such, Indian doctors, nurses and caregivers are “widely respected” for their competence and commitment across the world, with many countries having benefited through Indian skilled labor in the healthcare sector.
Modi also said that medical value travel (MVL) was another key strength of India’s healthcare sector, which essentially involves people from developing countries availing medical treatment and allied healthcare services in India.