WHO Chief Dr Tedros Meets Union Health Minister JP Nadda, Hails India’s Health Gains

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia in Dili, Timor-Leste. Dr Tedros congratulated Mr Nadda on India’s significant health gains, particularly in maternal and child health and the fight against non-communicable diseases.

In a social media post, the WHO Director-General said that through one lakh sixty thousand Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, India is bringing screening for hypertension, diabetes and common cancers closer to communities, with referral pathways for further care. He said India’s ASHA workers are another powerful example of healthcare reaching people where they are, supporting mothers and children from conception through adolescence.

Dr Tedros said, expanded immunisation and the increase in institutional deliveries from 78 percent to 93 percent are contributing to sustained declines in maternal and child mortality.

They also discussed India’s efforts to end tuberculosis, strengthen regulation of medical products and support the WHO, including in the areas of traditional medicine and ongoing negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system under the WHO Pandemic Agreement.