India playing key role in drugs manufacturing: WHO chief scientist

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India is playing a key role globally in the development of vaccines, manufacturing of drugs, diagnostics and therapeutics, WHO chief scientist Jeremy Farrar said on Tuesday.

Dr Farrar, who is attending the third G20 Health Working Group meeting here, said, “India is playing a key role globally in science, technology, development of vaccines, manufacturing of drugs, diagnostics and therapeutics.”

“An enormous praise to India for the way they’ve handled the G20. The world is a very complicated place at the moment. It’s tense and we’ve all lived through the last three years of a horrific pandemic. India played an absolutely critical role in science and technology, development of vaccines, manufacturing of drugs and diagnostics and therapeutics and played a key role globally,” he said.

Farrar said that two main things that are bringing the countries at the G20 meet here together are digital health initiatives, and science & technology, research and development and manufacturing.

“Bringing all these countries together has been about particularly two areas. One is around the Digital Health Initiative, in which I think India has played the key role in ensuring that digital health can reach everybody in the world, universal health coverage primary care and making sure we live in a more equitable world in the future. And the second is around science, technology research, development and manufacturing. And I think the progress we’ve made here in the last few days to make sure that we have a future with inevitable pandemics where we have more equitable access to the countermeasures.” he said.

The third G20 Health Working Group meeting is being held in Hyderabad from June 4 to 6.

“We need drugs, diagnostics, vaccines and India along with partners in the G20. can provide that for the world and we still give India a great many thanks for that,” he added. (ANI)