India calls for equitable pathogen access and benefit-sharing system under WHO pandemic agreement
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Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava has called for the establishment of a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system under the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
She stressed that countries contributing pathogens and biological resources should receive timely access to vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, technologies and other benefits.
Speaking at a UN high-level meeting on pandemic prevention and response in New York, Srivastava reaffirmed India's commitment to strengthening global health security through international cooperation, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
She said the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic must be translated into sustained investment, stronger institutional capacity and resilient health systems. Such efforts should be rooted in national health systems, development plans and domestic financing, with international assistance complementing national responsibility, she said.
Srivastava outlined India's coordinated approach to pandemic prevention and response across government and society, covering a wide range of potential health emergencies. She also detailed efforts to expand laboratory networks, emergency coordination, the health workforce, stockpiles and clinical care capacity.
Drawing on India's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, she called for digital public infrastructure to be recognised as a global public good. She pointed to its role in surveillance, vaccination, risk communication, supply chains and continuity of health services.
India supplied 300 million vaccine doses to around 100 countries and two UN entities during the pandemic and provided medical assistance to more than 150 countries.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said progress had been made in strengthening the global health security architecture since COVID-19, including through the WHO Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations. He stressed the need to conclude negotiations on the PABS system, warning that delays could affect the world's ability to respond to future pandemics.