G20 Declaration stresses on one health approach, enhance pandemic preparedness

The G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration has called for strengthening global health and implementing one health approach along with improving the access to medical countermeasures and facilitating more supplies in developing countries to prepare for future health emergencies.

With commitment to build more resilient, equitable, sustainable and inclusive health systems to achieve universal health coverage, the leaders in their joint declaration have stressed on strengthening primary healthcare, health workforce and essential health services to better-than-pre-pandemic levels, ideally within the next two to three years.

“We remain committed to strengthening the global health architecture, with the World Health Organization (WHO) at its core, and building more resilient, equitable, sustainable, and inclusive health systems to achieve Universal Health Coverage, implement One Health approach, enhance pandemic preparedness and strengthen existing infectious diseases surveillance systems”, reads the G20 joint declaration.

In addition to focusing on epidemics such as tuberculosis and AIDS, the G20 leaders also recognised the importance of research on long COVID.

“Implement and prioritise tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) following the One Health approach, including through research and development, infection prevention and control, as well as antimicrobial stewardship efforts within respective national action plans through AMR and antimicrobial consumption surveillance”, mentions the joint declaration.

The declaration has also recognised the potential role of evidence-based traditional and complementary medicine in health, and to take note of international efforts in this direction, including WHO’s global and collaborating centres, and clinical trial registries.

While highlighting the public health dimension of the world drug problem, the leaders called for strong international counter-narcotics cooperation, free of unnecessary restrictions, including information sharing and capacity building to disrupt production and proliferation of illicit drugs, including synthetic drugs, and precursor chemicals at their origin, in transit and at destination points.

The leaders committed to strengthening the global health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response through enhanced collaboration between finance and health ministries under the Joint Finance and Health Task Force.