NAM Countries Should Work Collectively on Improving Health: Indian Minister JP Nadda

In his address at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) health ministers’ meeting, organized on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly, Indian Health Minister JP Nadda pitched for members of the NAM countries to harness their collective bargaining powers to make new medicines and medical technologies available to their people at affordable costs. Nadda stressed on the importance of yoga as one which provides holistic health and well-being. He also emphasized on adopting healthy lifestyles. Nadda said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a call in the United Nations General Assembly in September last year to recognize yoga as a provider of holistic approach to health and well-being. We are happy to note that the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, with co-sponsorship from 177 countries, to observe June 21 as the International Day of Yoga."

Nadda said that in the present global health scenario, NAM can provide thought leadership on the issue of promoting health equity and reducing health inequity among nations as well as within nations. He said, "India has consistently worked for the advancement of the NAM agenda, objectives and principles and wants greater collaboration in health research among NAM countries. India’s major focus now is on accelerating the pace of development of useful diagnostics, re-agents, therapeutics, and prevention methods for communicable diseases such as those caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer."

Nadda said that India’s long-term aim was to make these modalities available to populations in low and middle-income countries at affordable costs. He said, "Regular sharing of best practices would greatly help our common cause, on cost-effective scalable interventions, especially targeting maternal and child health care and non-communicable diseases."

Source-Medindia