On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India’s commitment to improving global health in every manner, making a statement that the country is committed to incorporating technology in healthcare. He made the comments after Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), tweeted thanks for financial support of India during the WHO’s Investment Round.
Dr. Tedros had thanked PM Modi and other global leaders for their support, reminding everyone that “investment in WHO is an investment in global health security. In his response, PM Modi, addressing Dr. Tedros affectionately as Tulsi Bhai, reiterated India’s active role in advancing global health. He tweeted, “A healthy planet is a better planet. India is actively working in this area,” he said, underlining the country’s continuous work in health innovation and international cooperation.
Stressing the need to integrate technology, Prime Minister Modi elaborated: India is giving a lot of attention to integrating modern technologies into health initiatives. With more efforts at that end, India will definitely strengthen the health systems around the world, and India has shaped its role in supporting global health security through international cooperation.
This new cooperation falls under the context of WHO’s Investment Round-an historic event addressing the funding of the organization’s health strategy, the Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14). This initiative is going to tackle the big global health challenges and is expected to save as many as 40 million lives across the world over the next four years.
The climax of the Investment Round was graced at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where world leaders, including PM Modi, reemphasized the WHO’s central place in global health governance. Leaders stressed that stable and transparent funding for the WHO is indispensable in order to sustain its efforts into the future in global health. They also emphasized that the WHO Investment Round should remain an indispensable tool for securing long-term funding for initiatives undertaken by the organization.
In this regard, India’s own commitment to the WHO health objectives along with its efforts to utilize technology in health puts India at a forefront in future global health security.
