PremiumIndia would like to express its disappointment over the manner in which the report by WHO on all cause excess mortality was prepared and published ignoring the concerns expressed by India: Mandaviya
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NEW DELHI : India raised dismay and concern over World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent exercise on all cause excess mortality at the 75th session of World Health Assembly being held in Geneva from 22nd May to 28th May. India reiterated that country specific authentic data published by the statutory authority has not been taken into account.
“India would like to express its disappointment over the manner in which the report by WHO on all cause excess mortality was prepared and published ignoring the concerns expressed by India and other countries over the methodology and sources of data , setting aside the Country specific authentic data from the statutory authority of India," Union Minister of Health Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya saidWhile addressing the session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva at WHO headquarters.
It is the first in-person Health Assembly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this regard, the union health minister conveyed the collective disappointment of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare, a representative body of Health Ministers from all States of India, as they passed a unanimous resolution regarding the approach and methodology of WHO on excess mortality reports.
On May 6, WHO has stated in its report on excess deaths due to Covid, that approx. 4.7 million deaths have happened in India, directly or indirectly attributable to COVID-19 in India in 2020 and 2021.However, the then India strongly objected to the use of mathematical models for projecting excess mortality estimates in view of the availability of authentic data.
Mandaviya highlighted India’s commitment to build a more resilient global health security architecture. “There is a need to build a resilient global supply chain to enable equitable access to vaccines and medicines, streamlining WHO’s approval process for vaccines and therapeutics and strengthen WHO to build a more resilient global health security architecture," he said.
As a responsible member of the global community, India is ready to play a key role in these efforts, he added.
“India believes that this year’s theme linking peace and health, is timely & pertinent because there can be no sustainable development and universal health and wellbeing without peace," he said.