Hyderabad: 3-day G20 HWG meet in city from today

Hyderabad: A three-day 3rd Health Working Group meeting as part of the G20 India Presidency will be held in Hyderabad from Sunday. It will focus on the three key priorities of the G20 Health Track, said Union Additional Secretary for Health and Family Welfare, LavAgarwal.

Addressing media here on Saturday, he said that the side events of the 3rd HWG will highlight research and innovation in the health sector, including pharma, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

He said that the G20 Presidency of India presents a unique opportunity to voice the concerns of the Global South as the predecessor (Indonesia) and the successor (Brazil) of India in the G20 Troika both are developing countries which will further highlight and reinforce the challenges facing Global South.

Elaborating on the G20 Health priorities, Lav Agarwal said India’s G20 Presidency focuses on three priorities including health emergencies prevention, preparedness and response with a focus on anti-microbial resistance and ‘One Health’ framework, strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on access and availability to safe, effective, quality and affordable medical countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics), and Digital Health innovations and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve healthcare service delivery.

Against this backdrop, collaboration with these priorities, co-branded events and side events are being hosted for each health working group meeting that focuses on an emerging aspect in the health sector such as the Medical Value Travel (health tourism), Impact of Climate Change on Health, the application and relevance and application of evidence-based ‘Traditional Medicine in Health Sector’.

The 3rd Health Working Group Meeting will focus on Research and Development and Innovation in its side event. Besides, there will be a discussion on the theme of Finance and Health to identify the best practices and their integration to evolve a framework to deliver the right health solutions at the right time.

The deliverables of India’s G20 presidency, particularly as the voice of the Global South, will contribute to establishing regional networks catering to vaccine therapeutics, diagnostics, research, and manufacturing networks and the creation of a global medical countermeasures coordination platform.

Highlighting India’s initiatives of Co-Win and Vaccine Maitri, he said India has contributed significantly to addressing the global requirements. He further added that technology has been a great enabler in reaching the last mile via telemedicine, the Co-Win platform, easier identification and access to blood-bank. These collective initiatives serve to ensure that health services are within the reach of the poor man.

Lav Agarwal stated, “India has garnered in-principal agreement to the three proposed priorities and seeks to build global convergence on an agile, aligned global health architecture.” He emphasized that “global initiatives on managing any future health emergencies should integrate among themselves.”

On the upcoming Health Working Group Meeting, Lav Agarwal said that 180 members, 10 invited countries and 22 international organizations will be participating in this upcoming meeting. Apart from the main event, the side event will focus on deliberating on frameworks for research development and innovation for the creation of a network that would leverage access across the world. Additionally, there will also be a co-branded event on Global Vaccine Collaborative as well as a visit to Genome Valley, showcasing India’s prowess in research and development and pharmaceutical manufacturing.