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Mansukh Mandaviya to attend G20 health ministers' meet in Rome today
His visit comes a day after India discussed challenges and opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic during the BRICS digital health summit.
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya will begin his four-day visit to Rome, Italy, where he is expected to attend a meeting of the health ministers of the G20 countries, according to his office.
The crucial G20 meeting comes at a time when there are reports of resurgence of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) which has already wreaked havoc across the world.
On Friday, India discussed challenges and opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic during the BRICS digital health summit.
Union minister of state for health and family welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar represented India at the conclave. She addressed the panel on India's priorities towards full adoption of digital health technologies at all levels.
Dr Pawar acknowledged that digital health has become the priority in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The two waves presented us with unique challenges for which an effective and humane centralised response sensitive to regional needs was warranted. Digital health was aptly utilized to manage the pandemic and enabled us for a much more scientific and data-driven approach for strengthening our response," she said.
According to Union health ministry, India's expectations from the development of a repository of evidence-based digital technologies and innovations for health systems (under BRICS) and India's strategic approach to sustaining the gains from the use of digital innovations during Covid-19 in a sustainable manner towards building health systems resilience was also discussed at the summit.
Dr Pawar highlighted that BRICS digital health platform is the need of the hour to ensure health data availability across BRICS countries in an interoperable manner to ensure the continuum of care.
A BRICS digital health declaration was adopted in presence of the health ministers of the countries which are part of the bloc.
(With inputs from agencies)
