‘India, Africa must pool resources to fight diseases’

Union health minister J.P. Nadda on Thursday urged that India and Africa must pool in “collective strengths” and “resources” to ensure that diseases are fought using innovative tools.

Stating that both India and Africa are coming closer to establish cooperation in the area of health to promote their mutual interests, Mr Nadda said that both the countries should benefit from each other’s skills and experiences.

Speaking at the inauguration of the first edition of India-Africa Health Sciences Meet (IAHSM), Mr Nadda said, “The Indian and African health agenda are reflective of the importance that the nations are giving to the achievement of universal healthcare in the most feasible time frame. These new goals have to be taken into consideration in the formulation of development cooperation activities in the coming decades.”

To strengthen and enha-nce India-Africa health science collaborations, 20 countries have come together at a three-day meet jointly organised by the Indian Council of Medical Resea-rch and the ministry of external affairs. Speaking at the occasion, Mr Nadda said, “This is a very apt and opportune time to organise this summit to help establish a strong, reinvigorated, and sustainable India-Africa partnership in the health sciences and disease management.”

He added that our common concerns and fight against poverty, nutrition, sanitation, infrastructure, health and healthcare delivery — all demand innovative, sustainable and most importantly, regionally relevant solutions.

Cognisant to this demand, India is shouldering the responsibility and has taken a step forward in setting up platforms like the India-Africa Forum Summit.

Highlighting the value-based cooperation between the two countries grounded on the many similarities they share, Dr Harsh Vardhan, minister of science and technology, noted the initiatives taken by the science and technology ministry in African countries.

The director general of ICMR, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, also outlined the similarities between the African countries and India and how this meet shall provide avenues for strengthened partnerships in various health services.