Reforms are required in WHO to counter pandemics like Coronavirus, app

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned that the World Health Organization (WHO) needs to be reformed to combat pandemics like Coronavirus. Modi appealed while addressing a ‘Global Virtual Summit’ organized by US President Joe Biden regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. There is a need to change the rules of the WHO regarding vaccines and their treatment. He further said that vaccines and medicines should be made equally available to all, and for this, a strong supply chain is needed which does not get affected by such a crisis.

Although the Coronavirus outbreak is under control in India, it is still rampant in some countries. The number of Coronavirus victims in the United States has exceeded one million. In China, tens of thousands of Coronavirus patients are being diagnosed daily. It is claimed that the epidemic is spreading in European countries as well. In such a scenario, Prime Minister Modi has called for reforms in the WHO to combat such global epidemics.

A united response is expected globally against an outbreak like the Coronavirus. For this, it is necessary to reform the WHO. It will be essential to make vaccines and medicines equally available to all. India had launched a massive vaccination campaign to prevent Coronavirus outbreaks. About 90 per cent of Indian citizens are fully vaccinated. Five crore children have also been vaccinated against Coronavirus. India has started production of four World Health Organization approved vaccines. The Prime Minister said that India can produce 500 crore doses of the Coronavirus vaccine a year.

The Prime Minister pointed out at the Virtual Summit that India has supplied 200 million doses of Coronavirus vaccine to 98 countries through bilateral cooperation and the COVAX initiative. At the same time, the Prime Minister called on the World Trade Organisation to make necessary changes in its rules in the near future to combat the Corona-like epidemic.

Meanwhile, the prime minister noted that India had promoted the use of traditional drugs, increasing the resistance power and the Coronavirus vaccination, which contributed greatly to the fight against Coronavirus. The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over this, saying that many lives could be saved due to this. The foundation of the WHO Centre for Traditional Medicine las been laid in India last month to make this knowledge of traditional Indian medicine available to the world, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.