Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Singh Patel inaugurated the QUAD Workshop on Pandemic Preparedness for the Indo-Pacific Region in New Delhi today.
Under India’s presidency, the three-day workshop is being jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The workshop aims to strengthen global health emergency frameworks, enhance preparedness and resilience to health threats, and ensure coordinated responses to evolving pandemics.
The workshop also focuses on the implementation of One Health approach, addressing human, animal, and environmental health through a multisectoral lens.
More than 25 delegates from 15 countries across the Indo-Pacific region like Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Palau, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, and international health organizations, are participating in the workshop.
Addressing the gathering, Mrs. Patel said that the rise of emerging and re-emerging health threats in recent times underscores the critical necessity of strengthened preparedness, enhanced surveillance, and well-coordinated international response mechanisms to safeguard global health security.
Highlighting India’s commitment to strengthening global pandemic preparedness and response efforts, the Minister informed that India has contributed USD 10 million towards the establishment of the Pandemic Fund which was specially conceptualized for fighting pandemics. She added that India has further pledged an additional USD 12 million to support its sustained functioning.
In his address, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, highlighted the efforts being taken to integrate health services in the country.
He stated that this workshop presents a unique approach to address health challenges collaboratively with like-minded partner countries.
He emphasized the need to strengthen regional health networks and prepare for zoonotic diseases, especially for countries with a significant livestock sector.
Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said that this workshop is a valuable opportunity to exchange knowledge, best practices and most importantly strengthen health systems in the Indo-Pacific region to respond effectively to future healthcare crises.
She highlighted that the Quad has emerged as a force for health security in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, by leveraging India’s vast vaccine production capacity, the United States’ cutting-edge research, Japan’s technological expertise, and Australia’s strong regional engagement.
