New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the first session of G20 Summit at Bharat Madapam in New Delhi on Saturday, September 09, 2023. (Photo:IANS)
New Delhi, September 9 (IANS) The G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration has called for strengthening global health and implementing one health approach besides strong international counter-narcotics cooperation.
In the declaration, the G20 leaders said, "We remain committed to strengthening the global health architecture, with the World Health Organisation (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."
"We will focus on strengthening primary healthcare and health workforce and improving essential health services and health systems to better than pre-pandemic levels, ideally within the next 2-3 years, as well as continue progress towards polio eradication and ending ongoing epidemics including AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis and water-borne and other communicable diseases, also recognising the importance of research on long COVID," read the declaration.
Promote the One Health-based approach driven by the Quadripartite's One Health Joint Plan of Action (2022-2026), it said.
"Enhance the resilience of health systems and support development of climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems in collaboration with MDBs, and support the work of the WHO-led Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH)," the declaration said.
The G20 leaders also reaffirmed to recognise the potential role of evidence-based Traditional and Complementary Medicine in health, and take note of international efforts in this direction, including WHO's global and collaborating centres, and clinical trial registries.
Among others, support the WHO-led inclusive consultative process for the development of an interim medical countermeasures coordination mechanism.
In addition to that, to promote and improve access to mental health services and psychosocial support in an inclusive manner.
While highlighting the public health dimension of the world drug problem, they called for strong international counter-narcotics cooperation, free of unnecessary restrictions.
The G20 leaders also reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the global health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) through enhanced collaboration between Finance and Health Ministries under the Joint Finance and Health Task Force (JFHTF).
The New Delhi Leaders' Summit Declaration was adopted on Saturday after consensus was reached among member states during the G20 Summit.
Committed to inclusive, equitable and high-quality education for all: G-20 leaders
The G20 leaders on Saturday said that they are committed to inclusive, equitable and high quality education for all the people.
"We are committed to inclusive, equitable, high-quality education and skills training for all, including for those in vulnerable situations. We recognise the importance of investment in supporting human capital development," the Delhi Declaration said.
"To this end, we recognise the importance of foundational learning (literacy, numeracy, and socio- emotional skills) as the primary building block for education and employment. Reiterate our commitment to harness digital technologies to overcome the digital divides for all learners."
The G20 leaders said that they extend support to educational institutions and teachers to enable them to keep pace with emerging trends and technological advances including Al.
It said that there they would emphasise expanding access to high-quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
“Reaffirm our commitment to promote open, equitable and secure scientific collaboration and encourage mobility of students, scholars, researchers, and scientists across research and higher education institutions.”
The leaders said that they emphasise the importance of enabling life-long learning focused on skilling, reskilling, and upskilling especially for vulnerable groups.
"We thank India for successfully hosting the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi, for its warm welcome to delegates, and for its valuable contributions to the strengthening of the G20. We appreciate the successful conclusion of various G20 Working Groups and Ministerial meetings and welcome their outcomes as annexed. We also congratulate India on the successful landing on the moon on 23 August 2023."
“We thank international organisations for their participation and support. We thank the Engagement Groups of B20, S20, SA120, Startup20, T20, U20, W20, Y20, C20, P20 and L20 and the Initiatives, namely, EMPOWER, Research Initiative, Space Economy Leaders Meeting (SELM), Chief Science Advisers' Roundtable (CSAR) and the G20 Cybersecurity Conference for their valuable recommendations,” the Delhi Declaration said.
