PM Modi urges G20 nations to open innovations for public good

livemint.com:

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged G20 nations to facilitate equitable availability of technology and also appealed to them to open innovations for public good. Virtually addressing the G20 Health Ministers’ meet in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, PM Modi said, “Let us open our innovations for public good. Let us avoid duplication of funding.

Let us facilitate equitable availability of technology.“ He said this initiative will allow countries in the Global South to close the gap in health-care delivery, and “will take us one step closer to our goal of achieving universal health coverage." The prime minister informed the G20 members that India will eradicate tuberculosis (TB) well before the global deadline with the help of people’s participation. “We have called upon the people of the country to be Ni-kshay Mitra or Friends for Eradication of TB. Under this, nearly 1 million patients have been adopted by citizens.

Now we are on our way to achieve TB elimination well ahead of the global target of 2030," he said. “We must be ready to prevent, prepare and respond to the next health emergency (like COVID-19)." Underlining that health and environment are organically linked, the prime minister said clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient nutrition, and secure shelter are major factors of health. He congratulated the dignitaries for the steps they have taken towards the launch of the Climate and Health Initiative.

He said the steps taken to address the threat of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) are also commendable. PM Modi said AMR is a grave risk to global public health and all pharmaceutical advancements so far. He expressed happiness that the G20 Health Working Group has prioritized ‘’One Health‘’.