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New Delhi : Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on November 19, 2019, inaugurated the ‘2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products Achieving the SDGs 2030’ along with Union Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Zahid Maleque, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Ms Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo, Minister for Health, Royal Government of Bhutan, Upendra Yadav, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population, Government of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Dr V K Paul, Member (Health) Niti Aayog and other dignitaries here.
Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that under the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi, health has taken a centre stage among all policy decisions and programmes, “Efficient healthcare delivery systems providing equitable, affordable and easily accessible healthcare is at the heart of all our efforts. This World Conference thus takes prominence for all of us across the world thinking about path breaking technologies of healthcare.”
Calling the Conference a valuable platform for sharing experiences and advancing increased access to medical products globally as part of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Dr Vardhan stated, “This conference will spur innovative thinking around issues surrounding provisioning of affordable, quality medical products as part of public health care delivery systems.” He added that medical technologies underpinned by latest ideas and pooled-in knowledge, form a critical pillar of healthcare.
“We must optimally develop a robust system of sharing knowledge and other resources to practically translate discussions from this platform into action,” said Dr Vardhan,
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO, joined the conference through a video message. He reiterated the commitment of WHO to affordability and availability of medical products to people around the world. Dr Tedros added that with the increasing burden of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), the need for long term treatment and ensuing healthcare cost have increased. In addition, ageing population creates demand for more affordable assisted technologies. Advances in medical technologies everyday gives hope to people for better healthcare. This simultaneously increases the pressure for providing affordable medical care. “Through our efforts we shall continue to put people first,” he stated, according to a PIB release.
The inaugural session saw the release of ‘Position Paper-2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products–Achieving the SDGs 2030’, ‘White Paper on Safety of Rotavirus Vaccine in India: Smart Safety Surveillance Approach’ and the ‘National Guidelines for Gene Therapy Product Development and Clinical Trials’.
Access to essential medicines is a priority in the Regional Flagships on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for the South-East Asia Region. Following the UN High-Level Meeting (UN HLM) on UHC, the 2019 World Conference seeks to take forward the international and national agenda on access to medical products.