New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) The ‘Quad Workshop on Pandemic Preparedness for the Indo-Pacific Region’ commenced on Monday and will go on till March 19 under India’s presidency of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), stated the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel inaugurated the workshop, which stemmed from commitments made at the 6th Quad Leaders’ Summit in September 2024. Senior health officials and technical experts from the Quad nations — India, the United States, Japan, and Australia — participated in the event.
The workshop marks a significant step toward strengthening a coordinated health security framework for the Indo-Pacific. It aims to enhance global health emergency preparedness, improve resilience to health threats, and ensure effective pandemic response mechanisms.
A key focus of the workshop is implementing the ‘One Health’ approach, which integrates human, animal, and environmental health through a multisectoral lens.
In her address, Union Minister Patel emphasised the urgency of global health preparedness.
“The rise of emerging and re-emerging health threats highlights the necessity of strengthened preparedness, enhanced surveillance, and well-coordinated international response mechanisms to safeguard global health security,” she stated.
Reaffirming India’s leadership in global pandemic preparedness, Patel informed delegates that India has contributed $10 million towards the ‘Pandemic Fund’, established to combat pandemics, and pledged an additional $12 million for its sustained operation.
Apart from Quad members, more than 25 delegates from 15 Indo-Pacific nations — including Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Palau, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, and Tuvalu — along with international health organisations, are participating in the workshop.
The inaugural session featured insights from Principal Scientific Advisor Ajay Kumar Sood, Secretary (Health) Punya Salila Srivastava, Additional Secretary (MOH&FW) V. Hekali Zhimomi, and Additional Secretary (Americas) Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur.
The workshop will facilitate knowledge exchange on pandemic preparedness strategies, focusing on governance, surveillance, and innovation. Panel discussions will address strengthening global health frameworks, enhancing preparedness and resilience, coordinating pandemic responses, and implementing the ‘One Health’ approach.
Additional discussions will cover risk communication, community engagement, disease surveillance, and capacity building. Participants will also engage in group exercises and simulations on diseases such as Avian Influenza, Mpox, and Ebola, refining response strategies and promoting cross-border coordination.
Delegates will gain firsthand insights into India’s public health infrastructure, surveillance systems, and emergency response capabilities. A field visit to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the National Centre for Vector-Borne Disease Control has also been planned.
–IANS
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