We envisage health as central to development: EAM

New Delhi: India envisages health as central to development, and development as key to international cooperation, Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday as he cited the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative of the Centre during the Covid period, and the medical aid extended to people in Ukraine, Afghanistan and other countries in recent years.

Addressing the 12th International Patient Safety Conference being hosted here by the Apollo healthcare group, Jaishankar said the private health industry in India has also contributed to facilities and capacities in different geographies, and “we value this industry as a partner”.

“We in India envisage health as central to development, and development as key to international cooperation. In recent years, many of our global initiatives have revolved around health security. This is a domain where India has been the first responder, a development partner, a supply chain link, a health solution provider, and in many ways, an exemplar over the last decade,” Jaishankar said.

He underlined that India today has delivered more than 600 significant development projects to 78 nations across the world and many of those are in the health sector.

“Recently, we dispatched 66.5 tonnes of medical supplies to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,”  Jaishankar said.

. A little before that, a consignment of 1,400 kg of anti-cancer medicine were sent to strengthen the medical capabilities of hospitals in Syria.

“Even in Afghanistan, India has stepped forward with 300 tonnes of medicines in the last few years, as well as the despatch of specialists to a hospital that we built in Kabul.”

Jaishankar also cited the instance of aid provided to Sri Lankan hospitals during the 2022 economic crisis in the island nation, to Ukraine as the casualties in the conflict with Russia spiked, or to Myanmar when it was struck by Typhoon Yagi.

“In this pursuit, Indian diplomacy has worked with Indian partners, big and small, islands and landlocked, close and distant, but united in their desire to ensure better lives for their citizens,” he said.

Jaishankar also recalled India’s role during the Covid-19 pandemic, and its ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative.

“When the Covid pandemic started engulfing the world, the initial deliberations, and I myself was present at some of them, envisaged India as potentially the biggest concern. Ironically, India ended up not only looking after its own needs, but actually stepped forward to contribute to the world,” Jaishankar said.

At that time, India provided medicines to 150 nations, vaccines to 99 countries and two international organisations as well masks, PPE kits, gloves and ventilators, among others, Jaishankar said.          

“Equally important is the fact that India chose to do this when its own vaccination programme was still unfolding. A large number of developing nations received Made-in-India vaccine either through our Vaccine Maitri initiative or through other global programmes,” the minister said.

This was in contrast to many developed countries which stockpiled vaccines to the multiples of their population, he said.

“Indian medical teams also went out in the Indian Ocean Region to deal with the pressing situations in some smaller countries. And this was not just an exception made during the Covid era. It is part of our approach to the world, both before and after (the pandemic),” Jaishankar said.

He also mentioned that through the ‘Heal in India’ initiative, the Centre is committed to promoting medical value travel and making it easier for foreign patients to avail treatment in India.

And, “as we seek to balance tradition and technology as the twin forces of national progress, it is also natural that we will explore the relevance of our own heritage and culture, to the health of our people”, he underlined.

“Especially during Covid, there was a sharper realisation of the utility and efficacy of traditional medicines for preventive healthcare, recovery and wellness,” Jaishankar said.