Kerala to host G20 Health Working Group meeting

Thiruvananthapuram, January 17 (BPNS)

The first Health Working Group (HWG) meeting under the G20 India presidency will be held at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala on Wednesday. The three-day event will be attended by representatives of G20 member countries, special invitee countries, and relevant international organizations.

Briefing the media, Lav Agarwal, additional secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said that the meeting is part of the Health Track of the G20 India Presidency and it comprises four HWG meetings and one Health Ministerial Meeting.

The other meetings will be held at Goa, Hyderabad (Telangana), and Gandhinagar (Gujarat).

“India plans to host a side event along with each HWG meeting to enrich, supplement and support G20 discussions. These include side events on Medical Value Travel and Digital Health; a workshop on collaborative research on drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines; and a co-branded event on Global Centre for Traditional Medicine. The side event on Medical Value Travel will be held on the sidelines of the 1st meeting of HWG at Thiruvananthapuram,” said Agarwal.

According to him, the HWG meetings will be focused on three priorities: Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (with a focus on One Health & AMR), Strengthening Cooperation in Pharmaceutical Sector with a focus on Access and Availability to safe, effective, quality and Affordable Medical Countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics, and Diagnostics) and Digital Health Innovations and Solutions to Aid Universal Health Coverage and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery.

He further added that thematic discussions related to the above priorities will be held across the HWG meetings.

It was on December 1st, 2022 that India assumed the G20 presidency. On that occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India’s G20 Presidency will work to promote the universal sense of one-ness. Hence the theme – ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.

“During our G20 Presidency, we shall present India’s experiences, learnings, and models as possible templates for others, particularly the developing world. Our G20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just our G20 partners, but also our fellow travellers in the global South, whose voice often goes unheard. Our priorities will focus on healing our ‘One Earth’, creating harmony within our ‘One Family’ and giving hope for our ‘One Future’,” Modi said.