Finance says no to Health request for $10-million fund to meet G20 pledge

The GIDH is a World Health Organization (WHO)-managed network of organisations, institutions and government technical agencies engaged in supporting national digital health transformation. In the Delhi Declaration, the G20 leaders welcomed the establishment of the GIDH “within a WHO-managed framework to build a comprehensive digital health ecosystem in compliance with respective data protection regulations”.

While a Health Ministry spokesperson did not respond to queries on the issue, a source in the ministry, when asked about the status of the proposal, said that it is “under consideration at this point of time”. An email to the DEA did not elicit a response.

It is learnt that the Health Ministry approached the DEA as early as December 16, 2022 — two weeks after India assumed the G-20 Presidency — for seeking the latter’s approval for contributing $10 million to the GIDH. However, seven months later, on July 21, 2023, a DEA official wrote back to the Health Ministry: “The DEA does not support the proposal contributing USD 10 million to this initiative.”

While the DEA note did not specify any reason for not supporting the proposal, a source said that the DEA’s argument was that this funding should not create “committed liability”. Instead of India making financial contributions, it argued, it should look at other options like technical support to the GIDH.

It is learnt that the matter was subsequently even flagged by the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) to the UN. In November 2023, the PMI recommended to the government to make a contribution of a “substantial financial commitment” towards the establishment of the GIDH, sources said.

In view of the fact that the entire Global South and the West, including African Union and the Latin American nations, look upon India as the “torchbearer” in digital health, the matter of contributing $10 million to the GIDH was “reconsidered” in the Health Ministry with the approval of the Health Minister, said a source.

The source highlighted that in contrast, Indonesia had contributed $50 million as an initiator of the proposal to establish Presidency Prevention, Preparedness Response (PPR) Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) under its Presidency. The fund was launched and projected as an achievement under the Indonesian Presidency. India took over the G20 Presidency from Indonesia. Now, Brazil heads the G20 Presidency. Under Brazil’s G20 Presidency, the GIDH is one of the health sector priorities, the sources said.