India floats global digital system to face pandemic challenges

He proposed the convergence of all digital initiatives through a “global initiative on digital health” housed at the World Health Organisation (WHO) headquarters.

He said the Covid pandemic exposed the fault lines in the existing system and called for a more robust and inclusive system, while maintaining the centrality of the WHO. He also cautioned against fragmented and isolated efforts and said that there was a need for a more collaborative approach to ensure health equity.

Highlighting the case of Covid-19 vaccination programme, the minister raised concern that more than two years after vaccines were rolled out in December 2020, only 34% of the populations in low and middle income countries have access to them as compared to 73% in high income countries as on April 2023.

Health equity, especially when it comes to medical countermeasures such as diagnostics, drugs and vaccines at the time of a pandemic, is one of the three priority areas for India’s health agenda for G20, he said.

Mandaviya was one of the four health ministers from the ‘Outreach 4’ countries – India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand – invited to the meeting.

The minister separately met the health ministers of Germany and Italy and discussed a host of issues including collaboration on digital health and exchange of human resources.