At Covid Summit, PM Modi Calls For Reforms In World Health Body

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the World Health Organisation must be reformed and strengthened to build more resilient global health security architecture. Also, the rules of the World Trade Organisation need to be more flexible, he said at the Global Virtual Summit on Covid this evening.

At the summit hosted by the US President Joe Biden, PM Modi also said India calls for "stream-lining WHO's approval process for vaccines and therapeutics to keep supply chains stable and predictable".

"It is clear that a coordinated global response is required to combat future health emergencies. We must build a resilient global supply chain and enable equitable access to vaccines and medicines," PM Modi said.

"WTO rules, particularly TRIPS need to be more flexible. WHO must be reformed and strengthened to build a more resilient global health security architecture," he added.

The Prime Minister also highlighted that as a responsible member of the global community, India would continue to play an active role by sharing its low cost indigenous COVID mitigation technologies, vaccines and therapeutics with other countries.

India is working to extend its genomic surveillance consortium and is using traditional medicine extensively, he added.

India has also  laid the foundation for a WHO Center for Traditional Medicine in India to make this knowledge available to the world, he said.

India, PM Modi said, has supplied over 200 million doses to 98 countries, bilaterally and through COVAX.

"India has developed low-cost COVID mitigation technologies for testing, treating and data management. We have offered these capabilities to other countries... India's Genomics Consortium has contributed significantly to the global database on the virus," he added, enumerating the country's contributions in the fight against the pandemic.