G20 Health Ministers acknowledge systematic weakness in health systems to fight pandemic

Health Ministers of G20 acknowledged the systematic weaknesses in health systems and vulnerabilities in the global community’s ability to prevent and respond to a pandemic. According to a statement released after the virtual meeting on April 19, the G20 Health Ministers addressed the need to improve the effectiveness of global health systems by sharing knowledge and closing the gap in response capabilities and readiness.

“Ministers echoed G20 Leaders’ concern regarding the risks posed by the pandemic to developing and least developed countries, where health systems and economies may be less able to cope with the challenge,” read the statement.

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The G20 ministers shared national experiences and the preventive measures they adopted to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The leaders emphasised that people’s health and well-being are at the heart of all decisions taken to protect lives, tackle illness and strengthen global health security. They also addressed necessary actions to improve pandemic preparedness, the and importance of utilizing digital solutions in current and future pandemics.

“G20 Health Ministers will take any further actions that may be required to contain the pandemic and will reconvene again as necessary,” the statement added.

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'Opportunity to dive deep'

During the meeting, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said that the global health crisis has created an opportunity to dive deep into the nature of what connects everyone. He said that India started surveillance of flights coming in from COVID19 affected countries 12 days before the country had its first case on Jan 30, 2020.

"Since the onset of COVIDー19 pandemic, India has assumed a leadership role and assisted neighbouring countries in a multitude of ways," the minister added.

India has reported over 17,000 coronavirus cases with more than 550 deaths due to the infection as the country is going through a lockdown which ends on May 3. According to the latest report, over 2.4 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide with over 165,000 deaths, overwhelming the health care facilities across the globe.

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(Image source: Twitter / @g20org)