Prime Minister Narendra Modi and World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing global collaboration for combating the highly-infectious virus. In a telephone conversation, Modi expressed his appreciation for WHO’s important role in facilitating a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also noted the need to not lose sight of the battle against other disease, and acknowledged the global health body’s support to the health systems of developing countries.
Dr. Tedros stressed the close and regular collaboration between the WHO and the Indian health authorities, and appreciated India’s domestic initiatives like the Ayushman Bharat scheme and campaign against Tuberculosis. He said that India had an important role to play in global he
alth issues.
Prime Minister Modi and Dr. Tedros had a productive discussion on the value of traditional medicinal systems, especially for enhancing wellness and immunity of the global population, an official release read. They agreed on the need for integrating traditional medicine solutions into modern medical practice through holistic protocols, and for careful scientific validation of time-tested traditional medicine products and practices.
The WHO Director General stressed that the potential of traditional medicine had not been adequately appreciated until now, and said that the WHO was actively working to encourage research, training and sharing of best practices in this area.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated the efforts, and informed the Director General about the planned celebration of Ayurveda Day in India on 13 November, under the theme of ‘Ayurveda for COVID-19’.
Both of them discussed the ongoing global collaboration for countering the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, the Director General strongly appreciated Prime Minister Modi’s unequivocal commitment to deploy India’s capacities as a leading manufacturer of vaccines and pharmaceuticals for the benefit of humanity.