On October 21, 2020, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan virtually addressed the World Bank (WB)- IMF (International Monetary Fund) annual meeting from New Delhi which was held on the themes of “Unleashing the South Asian Century through Human Capital for All” and “Investing in Covid-19 Vaccines and Primary Healthcare Delivery System”.
- The Minister highlighted that India used the “Whole of Society, Whole of Government” approach to manage the challenges posed by the global pandemic.
Key Points:
–The Indian side appreciated the support of its private sector in making Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, N95 masks, Oxygen, ventilators and diagnostic tests kits to ensure self-sufficiency.
–The Indian medical infrastructure saw an exponential growth, from having one lab in March, 2020 to around 2000 laboratories as on date with nearly half of the labs from the private sector.
–India’s present Agenda for COVID19 has been to provide an affordable vaccine as well as to ensure its equitable distribution through IT platform e-Vin (electronic Vaccine Intelligent Network).
- In this regard a National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration has been constituted under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is working on all aspects, as well as designing innovative approaches to distribute vaccines in rural and remote regions
–India also initiated Universal Immunization Program (UIP) for supply, storage and delivery of vaccines to the last mile. It administers around 600 million doses to children every year.
–The Nation also recently conducted the World’s largest Measles-Rubella Campaign covering 330 million children.
Recent Related News:
i.In order to increase the groundwater table in parched land of 20 taluks, the state cabinet of Karnataka approved Rs 600 cr project titled Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agriculture Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD) with World Bank (WB) assistance.
ii.On September 7, 2020 The State Government of Himachal Pradesh (HP) and World Bank signed a $82 million (approximately Rs. 600 Crores) loan deal to strengthen its transport and road safety institutions by improving the condition, safety, resilience, and engineering standards of the state’s road network.
About World Bank:
President– David Robert Malpass
Headquarters– Washington, D.C., United States
Motto– Working for a World Free of Poverty
About International Monetary Fund:
Managing Director (MD)– Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova
Economic Counsellor and Research Department Director– Gita Gopinath
Headquarter– Washington, DC, United States (US)
