Health Ministry discusses leveraging Pandemic Fund under G20 Presidency

Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare organised an orientation seminar in collaboration with The Pandemic Fund at Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

The main focus of the seminar is to emphasize the functioning of the Pandemic Fund and its recently announced First Call for Proposals.

Discussions were also held to explore the potential role of Indian health organisations as Implementing Entities of the Pandemic Fund.

Bhushan emphasized the need for global health cooperation and sharing of knowledge and resources, especially for low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

He underscored the expertise of Indian health organisations in disease surveillance and Pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) to call attention to their potential as Implementing Entities in the Pandemic Fund.

Citing India’s comprehensive management of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bhushan praised India’s capacity for disease surveillance and PPR that would hold good stead.

He further highlighted initiatives such as PM- Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), CoWIN, Aarogya Setu, and eSanjeevani in this regard.

He also commended the different stakeholders for their relentless efforts towards the creation of the Pandemic Fund calling it an essential initiative in the quest for building a resilient and fit-for-purpose Global Health Architecture.

Priya Basu, Executive Head, The Pandemic Fund expressed her enthusiasm about collaborating with Indian health organisations in the future and looked forward to receiving proposals from India for the first funding call. 

She also elaborated in her speech about the First Call for Proposals and Implementing the Entity Accreditation Framework of the Pandemic Fund.

Launched during the Indonesian G20 Presidency, the Pandemic Fund is a collaborative partnership among donor countries, co-investors (countries eligible to receive funding), foundations and civil society organizations that finances critical investments to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) capacities with focus on low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries.

Officials from ICMR and NCDC also presented India’s progress in Diseases Surveillance and Pandemic Preparedness and shared their inputs on possible areas of contribution to The Pandemic Fund as potential Implementing Entities.

The organisations also showcased their Global Health cooperation efforts by expanding upon their work in Maldives and Timor-Leste to build disease surveillance and Pandemic PPR capacities in these countries.