19 November 2019, New Delhi: The three-day 2019 World Conference on ‘Access to Medical Products: Achieving the SDGs 2030’ was inaugurated by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Government of India in New Delhi today.
In his opening remarks, Dr Harsh Vardhan said that access to effective, safe, quality-assured and affordable medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and devices is the key to progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) and sustainable development goals (SDGs), to which India is firmly committed.
“We must optimally develop a robust system of sharing knowledge and information for larger public welfare. The conference will spur innovative thinking around issues surrounding provisioning of affordable, quality medical products as part of public health care delivery systems,” Dr Harsh Vardhan further added.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO joined the conference through a video address. In his address, 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, the need for long term treatment, and the 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.
The event saw the release of three important publications by the dignitaries: Safety of Rotavirus Vaccine in India: Smart Safety Surveillance Approach and the Position Paper for the 2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products – Achieving the SDGs 2030 and the National Guidelines for Gene Therapy Product Development and Clinical Trials.
The 2019 conference will track the progress on recommendations from the previous conference held in 2018 in the context of SDGs and take forward the agenda on access to medical products. Discussions focused on creating an enabling legal and trade environment for public health, which are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda are also on the anvil.
“I commend India for its commitment to UHC, and for its leadership in the South-East Asia Region and globally. The Conference’s success reflects India’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 3, the health goal, and the target underpinning it – universal health coverage. The WHO-supported South-East Asia Regulatory Network, which is developing collaborative mechanisms that consolidate the Region’s regulatory resources, is making regulation more effective and efficient across the Region. I am pleased this conference will explore new opportunities to do that. WHO will continue to foster innovation across the Region, including by harnessing our vast network of WHO Collaborating Centers, several of which are represented today,” said Dr Pem Namgyal, DPM, WHO SEARO on behalf of the Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO South East Asia Region.
Among the dignitaries present at the event were Mr Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State, MoHFW; State Health Ministers from Telangana and Meghalaya; Dr V K Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, Government of India; ; Dr Arun Panda, Secretary (Health, MoHFW; Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT); Dr Balram Bhargava, Secretary, Department of Health & Research and DG-Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Mr Arun Singhal, Special Secretary, MoHFW; Dr Nata Menabde, Executive Director WHO to the UN, Dr Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative to India; Dr Mandeep Bhandari, Joint Secretary, MoHFW; and principal secretaries from several states and union territories in India.
Mr Upendra Yadav, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population, Ministry of Health and Population, Government of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Honourable Ms Dechen Wangmo, Minister for Health, Ministry of Health, Royal Government of Bhutan, Honourable Mr Zahid Maleque, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, echoed their country commitments to UHC. The Honourable Ministers also reiterated their commitment for access to medical products as envisioned in the 2018 Delhi Declaration.
The conference has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the WHO Country Office for India, with support from partners including Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a public sector undertaking of the Department of Biotechnology; and Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.
For more information, please visit: https://www.worldsdg2030.org
Position Paper for the 2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products
Safety of Rotavirus Vaccine in India