‘India offers sustainable solutions’: PM Modi at World Health Assembly

New Delhi: In his video conference speech to the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the world’s health hinges on how well we care for the most vulnerable, and that India’s approach offers reproducible, scalable, and sustainable models.

According to him, India operates Ayushman Bharat, the largest health insurance program in the world, which covers 580 million people and offers free medical care. He also mentioned that the program was recently expanded to include all Indians over 70.

He noted India’s extensive network of thousands of health and wellness centres that facilitate early screening and detection of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and hypertension.

Modi also underlined the role of thousands of public pharmacies that provide high-quality medicines at significantly lower prices.

Highlighting the role of technology in improving health outcomes, Modi underscored India’s digital initiatives like the digital platform that tracks the vaccination of pregnant women and children and the unique digital health identity system, which is helping integrate benefits, insurance, records, and information.

He said that with telemedicine, no one is too far from a doctor. He highlighted India’s free telemedicine service, which has enabled over 340 million consultations.

Reflecting on the positive impact of India’s health initiatives, he noted a significant decline in out-of-pocket expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure. Simultaneously, he emphasized that government health expenditure has increased considerably.

“The health of the world depends on how well we care for the most vulnerable,” the Prime Minister asserted.

Noting that the Global South is particularly impacted by health challenges, Modi stressed that India’s approach provides replicable, scalable, and sustainable models.

He expressed India’s willingness to share its learnings and best practices with the world, especially with the Global South.

Looking ahead to the 11th International Day of Yoga in June, the prime minister encouraged global participation and highlighted this year’s theme, ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health’.

He extended an invitation to all countries, emphasizing India’s role as the birthplace of Yoga.

Prime Minister Modi congratulated the WHO and all member states on the successful negotiations of the intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) treaty. He described it as a shared commitment to fighting future pandemics through greater global cooperation.