“India’s COVID management is a story of leadership, innovation, dedication, partnership, sharing and leveraging technology,” said Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday, delivering the keynote address at “Aksha’ – Lessons from India”, an event organised by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
The event was held to take key lessons and share experiences and best practices from India’s COVID management and vaccination journey.
The Union Minister highlighted that India presented an exemplary model of COVID management with the Centre and States working in unison in a federal democracy. ‘Jan Andolan’ and ‘Jan Bhagidari’ were the key pillars of India’s COVID management strategy, said Mr. Mandaviya.
Appreciating the contribution of healthcare workers in the fight against the pandemic, Mr. Mandaviya applauded their motivation and dedication. Administration of more than 181 crore vaccine doses had contributed to our success in management of third surge, he added. The Minister underscored the fact that “despite the huge diversity of geographies and population, India demonstrated how a huge vaccination drive can be mounted at scale”.
Mr. Mandaviya also stated that in keeping with the Indian ethos and tradition, the country supplied COVID-19 vaccines to the world “even before our own vaccine requirement was fully met.” He added that “we did not exhibit any arrogant behaviour but shared what India produced. We have provided medicines such as HCQ to many countries. We did not compromise on quality or bargain with the price.”
The Union Minister said “India’s success story presents takeaway for other countries to emulate, just as we are always open to learning from global best practices.”
‘Acted on proactive mode’
Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the government acted on a proactive mode since the onset of the pandemic to address the various challenges of vaccine roll-out across the country, vaccine production as well as vaccine hesitancy among the people. “India has already covered 96% of 15+ population with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,” he said.
Balram Bhargava, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research, noted that India had made a mark in the world in terms of vaccine production and vaccine delivery. He added that “a great journey lies ahead for India to make new discoveries in the world for other diseases”.
