NEW DELHI: Mansukh Mandaviya, the union health minister, stated on March 15 that it is time for India to take the lead in implementing the "one earth, one health" vision through a holistic policy-making environment and aligning it with the "vasudhaiva kutumbakam" philosophy.
At the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India has a strong political resolve to lead in new research and technology enabled solutions that are economically viable and have broad acceptance.
"One Health: Integrated, Collaborative and Multisectoral Approach to Optimum Health" is the theme of the summit.
The "one world, one health" ideal can only be realised through active international cooperation in which nations consider collective global results rather than just their own interests, according to the Minister.
Mr. Mandaviya emphasised that the health sector cannot be restricted to a single nation because the health and welfare of one nation affects that of another.
He said, "We live in an interdependent world, where the health of the human population is equally affected and influenced by the health of the surrounding environment and animals.
The global pandemic has shown that no nation is immune to unfavourable events occurring in any nation and that our actions have an impact on the health and wellbeing of our ecosystem.
"It is therefore our common responsibility as a human species to not only protect ourselves but also guarantee that our activities result in conserving the ecosystem we co-exist in," he stressed. He explained that the idea of "one world, one health" hammers home how crucial our actions and environmental policies are.
Mandaviya praised India's dominant position in indigenous research and its abundance of traditional treatments while emphasising that each nation can have its own methodology for accomplishing the aim.
Yet, in order to enhance our models and work in concert with one another to ensure that our collective actions leave behind a healthier world than the one we inhabit, it is crucial to learn from one another's best practises.
Mr. Mandaviya praised the advancement of programmes like Ayushman Bharat and the Co-Win platform's success, which is now shared as a public digital good. He emphasised that health is seen as "seva"—service to others.
The Minister also expressed his faith in the nation's research institutes and urged the academic community and the commercial sector to participate in and support research.
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