G20 Summit: Members promise to strengthen primary healthcare

Equitable distribution of vaccines, keeping a close watch on the growing danger of antibiotic resistance and developing low-carbon and carbon resilient health systems will be some of the key working areas for these countries.

With only 12 per cent SDG targets on track, the G20 nations on Saturday said that there would be renewed focus to improve the quality of primary healthcare and ensure availability of better quality of health workforce in the next 2-3 years.

“We will focus on strengthening primary healthcare and health workforce and improving essential health services and health systems to better than pre-pandemic levels, ideally within the next 2-3 years,” said the New Delhi Declaration adopted by the G20 countries.

Building on the Millennium Development Goal, the UN General Assembly in 2015 came out with the Sustainable Development Goal resolution with 17 goals and 169 targets to complete what could not be achieved under the MDG to improve people’s health and education, alleviating their poverty and securing the planet from the consequences of climate change.

“At the midway point to 2030, the global progress on SDGs is off-track with only 12 per cent of the targets on track,” the G20 countries noted, committing on measures that need to be taken in order to accelerate the progress.

“We remain committed to strengthening the global health architecture, with the World Health Organisation at its core, and building more resilient, equitable, sustainable, and inclusive health systems to achieve universal health coverage, implement One Health approach, enhance pandemic preparedness and strengthen existing infectious diseases surveillance systems,” the G20 countries said in the declaration.

Equitable distribution of vaccines, keeping a close watch on the growing danger of antibiotic resistance and developing low-carbon and carbon resilient health systems will be some of the key working areas for these countries.

The club of 20 nations including countries like India, Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia said, “We call upon developed countries to fully deliver on their respective ODA (overseas development assistance) commitments that complements and encourages development financing from all other sources, including public and private, domestic and international, in a timely manner.” Deccan Herald