New Delhi: Under its G20 Presidency, India aims for equitable access to healthcare for all and set up a framework to reduce disparities in healthcare availability across the world, Union minister Bharati Pawar said.
Pawar was speaking at the inaugural event of Medical Value Travel on the sidelines of the 1st Health Working Group meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Thursday.
“India envisions to accelerate efforts towards increasing the pace of implementation of value-based healthcare and achieving the goal of Universal Health Coverage across the world,” PTI quoted Pawar as saying.
Highlighting the philosophy of 'Aarogyam Param Bhagyam, Swasthyam Sarwaarth Sadhanam' that translates as 'Good Health is the Greatest Fortune' and 'Health is the only way to Happiness in the World', the Minister of State for Health said for centuries, traditional medicine has played a major role in promoting health and it continues to be a crucial resource for individuals.
“Traditional medicine is gaining worldwide recognition as effective tools for pain management and hold a lot of promise against antibiotic resistance too. Over 170 of 194 WHO member states have also reported the use of traditional medicine.” Pawar lauded India’s efforts toward creating a unique ecosystem for holistic healthcare.
“India has been able to combine the best of modern and traditional medicine coupled with wellness treatments. Also, our health system offers quality treatment, having widespread availability and is one of the most affordable in the world,” the minister said.
She also encouraged the participants to promote value-based healthcare and urged the stakeholders to discuss and enable equitable access to healthcare services across the world.
Reiterating the need for a holistic policy framework, she said, “Medical Value Travel across most of the countries is driven by private sector and while it facilitates provisioning of health services to needy patients cutting across geographical boundaries, the policy imperative to promote Medical Value Travel needs to gain momentum.”
“With G20 India Presidency, we have the opportunity to create multilateral collaborations between countries, facilitated by knowledge sharing, leading to the formulation of effective policies aiding accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare to citizens across the world,” Pawar added.
Notably, representatives from G20 member countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, The United Kingdom, United States of America and European Union attended the event.
Special invitee countries included Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Nigeria, Singapore, Spain, the Sultanate of Oman, The Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates.