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NEW DELHI: India’s public health strategies have resulted in better management of Omicron surge compared to many other countries, Mansukh Mandaviya, union health minister said on Thursday while delivering a keynote address at webinar on “India’s Public Health Response to manage COVID-19" with NGOs.
Mandaviya said India has supported many countries during Covid pandemic with affordable and quality medicines.
“The management of the COVID19 pandemic, and especially the recent Omicron surge, has strongly demonstrated to the world the power of strong political will, self-reliance through Atma Nirbharta, innovation powered by technology, shared goals and collaborative efforts through a 'whole of government' and 'whole of society' approach," Mandaviya said.
The minister noted that at a time when many countries are reporting an increase in number of daily Covid cases, India has reported a substantial decrease, combined with increased recovery rate, and high levels of vaccination.
Timely measures including test, track and treat approach with focused genome sequencing, containment through containment zones, community surveillance, protocols for home isolation and effective clinical treatment have in tandem contributed to India’s Covid management, the minister said.
“India’s vaccination drive is testament to India’s capabilities and power of the people without whom this journey, and this high level of vaccine coverage, would not have been possible. Despite the large population combined with geographical and sociological diversities, India has set global standards of COVID vaccination," he added.
“One of the key achievements has been our capacity to deliver over 1.8 billion Covid vaccine doses across a multitude of regions and terrains."
Highlighting India's contribution towards pandemic management, he said: “India has not only produced quality and affordable vaccines, we have exported medicines to more than 150 countries on humanitarian grounds. The 'Vaccine Maitri' program of the government has been lauded globally."
Mandaviya appreciated grassroots NGOs, stakeholders and CSOs for working tirelessly among the communities during the pandemic. “I seek your continued partnership for connecting with the communities to take healthcare services to them. Your work will be pivotal in enhancing awareness and accelerating uptake of e-health services (such as eSanjeevani, and tele-health) among the masses."
Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog said, “India's approach was technology-led which helped in achieving this whole of society approach. CoWIN app turned out to be the heart of the vaccination drive.
Mark Esposito of Harvard University, who was present in the meeting, lauded the work done by Indian authorities which is committed to prompt and science-based response.
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