Gandhinagar: Building a more resilient, equitable, sustainable and inclusive healthcare system, was the resolve taken by G20 countries at the health ministers’ meeting that concluded in Gandhinagar Saturday evening.
Drawing on lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic, the countries resolved to tackle future public health emergencies with equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured and affordable vaccines and other medical countermeasures — especially in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and small island developing states (SIDS).
The countries also resolved to focus on long-Covid — the long-term health effects that continue to afflict people who had suffered from the infection.
The meeting, held under India’s G20 presidency, saw countries unanimously adopt the ‘Outcome Document’’ — a 25-point document that reaffirmed the commitment of G20 countries to continue strengthening the ‘Global Health Architecture’.
Countries also committed to strengthening their dialogue through the G20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force (JFHTF) and reaffirmed the importance of strengthening national health systems by putting people at the centre of preparedness and equipping them to respond effectively.
The importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective, while designing health systems, was also accepted, considering the specific needs of women and girls. This was done with a view to achieving gender equality in health systems.
“This would facilitate achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), with an aim to strengthen primary health care and improve essential health services,” it said.
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‘Converge, consolidate & create a healthier future’
According to the outcome document, the need of the hour is to converge, consolidate, and create a healthier future, and strengthen national health systems via effective community involvement through the underlying principle of “Leave No One Behind” and considering vulnerable populations living in crises-affected settings.
Under the overarching theme of India’s G20 presidency of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, the G20 nations deliberated on three health priorities — health emergencies, prevention, preparedness and response (with focus on One Health and Antimicrobial Resistance [AMR]), strengthening cooperation in pharma sector and digital health innovation and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve healthcare service delivery.
While expressing concern over rising cases of zoonotic diseases, the G20 member nations also committed to prioritising climate-resilient health systems development and building sustainable and low-carbon/low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission health systems.
They also recognised the potential role of evidence-based traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) in health, and took note of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) efforts in this direction, including global and collaborating centres, and clinical trial registries.
Countries also recognised the potential for innovative technologies, including the use of big data analytics, artificial Intelligence and machine learning, to support people’s health needs and achieve the goal of universal health coverage.
They also underlined that it is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability.
Member nations also maintained that they are committed to further continuing action-oriented dialogues in global health under the incoming G20 presidencies, including that of Brazil in 2024.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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