Latest news with #WorldHealthSummit
Scoop
16-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
A For Accountability And Audit For TB Deaths Is Missing In #EndTB Response
This article is an insight from former Chief Scientist of WHO HQ Dr Soumya and others on why TB death audit is necessary so that we can find out the reasons why a person died of a curable disease and avert such tragedies in future. May 15, 2025 When TB is preventable and curable then why over 1.1 million people died of it worldwide in 2023 (as per the latest WHO Global TB Report 2024)? Even one TB death is a death too many. Most of these deaths took place in low- and middle-income countries. Unless we find what went wrong and what could have done better, how would we ever improve TB programmes in order to avert these untimely deaths? A young woman of 19 years old died of TB in Delhi (India). When experts looked at the case, it became evident that it was a failure of the system. This girl was a poor migrant worker. Her father had died of TB. Her sister too had TB. They were seeking healthcare from the private sector and they fell through the cracks. 'Probably, they could not continue the treatment regularly … nobody was tracking them… or following up on them … and by the time she was admitted in LRS Institute (now known as National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases or NITRD), she had a very extensive bilateral disease and she ended up dying,' said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Principal Advisor of National TB Elimination Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Dr Soumya earlier served as Chief Scientist of World Health Organization (WHO) and Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). 'At NITRD they had put her on the ventilator, they did everything possible but could not save her,' said Dr Swaminathan. She was speaking at a special WHO session at World Health Summit regional meeting. A 19-years old girl died in India's national capital Delhi, which has state-of-the-art TB and healthcare infrastructure in public sector too. She died of drug-sensitive TB (which means her TB bacteria was NOT resistant to any TB medicine). 'Such cases are occurring everyday but are we paying attention to that? Are we learning lessons? Are we trying to improve the system?' asks Dr Swaminathan. Despite being curable, TB is the deadliest infectious disease globally TB is the deadliest infectious disease worldwide. It killed more people even during the COVID-19 pandemic in many high-burden TB settings. It mostly impacts the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable. So, given the inequities and injustices that ail us globally, it becomes less visible to those who are among the privileged few. India is home to the largest number of people with TB globally (2.8 million). WHO Global TB Report 2024 states that 323,200 TB deaths took place in India in 2023, which amounts to almost 900 TB deaths everyday. A for Accountability and A for Audit of every TB death is a must When governments united worldwide to reduce maternal mortality and adopted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, they delivered on it and maternal deaths declined significantly by 2015. 'Reducing maternal mortality had been among the important MDG goals. Governments and communities could deliver on it significantly through certain key interventions- like institutional deliveries and better antenatal and postnatal care, among others. To address the primary causes of maternal mortality, collectors of each district undertook a maternal death audits every month. For every maternal death which occurred, everybody had to sit together and understand and explain why that death was not preventable. Why cannot we have a similar approach to audit TB deaths?' asks Dr Soumya Swaminathan. 'I would suggest that a community medicine department or a public health department of a local medical college in that state be assigned this role to do TB audits. It should not be the TB programme itself doing TB death audit, but it should be presented with the analysis and reasons for TB deaths by those who are doing it,' said Dr Swaminathan. Many countries have made significant progress in reducing TB deaths. But still case fatality rate (number of people who die among those who are diagnosed) is high – it hovers around 10%. For example, in India out of 2.55 million cases that were notified to the TB programme, TB deaths were 323,200 (13%) in 2023. TB death rates are higher for drug-resistant forms of TB. 'China has a TB death rate of 3 per 100,000 population. India has a TB death rate of 22 per 100,000 population,' points out Dr Swaminathan, calling for stronger action to save lives. 'This high mortality for a disease that is treatable is of concern. TB mostly affects people who are in the 25-55 age group, which is an important economically productive one. If we calculate the economic loss to the country because of TB deaths- with people in economically productive age group falling ill and some even dying of TB- then it could be a huge economic burden as well. If we add secondary costs, then it would be way more,' said Dr Swaminathan. 'But more important than economic loss are those individuals who die of a preventable and treatable illness. We must do our best to understand the data and do proper analysis of TB deaths.' Dr Swaminathan shared an example from Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state where the state government has partnered with National Institute of Epidemiology (an institute of Indian Council of Medical Research) to audit TB deaths and help improve clinical management of TB patients to avert such deaths in future. Dr Swaminathan reflected that people need to get the right care at the right time. They may have TB disease but they also have other conditions, such as severe malnourishment, high blood pressure, diabetes, other co-morbidities, or they come from such a poor background that they cannot access the care they need. TB-related stigma lurks even today which further jeopardises equitable access to care and services. Alcoholism is another major risk factor for TB, she said. 'I have been to hospital wards and seen how people become sick or non-adherent to therapy due to alcoholism.' If we can identify early on, other co-morbidities or conditions a person with TB has then we can perhaps try to tailor our care and services to help and support them finish their TB treatment. She rued that 'Very often hospitals refuse admission for TB patients for one reason or the other.' Hospitals must not refuse admission to needy TB patients. She advises that TB related hospital admission and care should be covered with Indian government health insurance scheme so that hospitals get compensated for admitting and caring for a severely ill person. Once a person is admitted in the hospital then the medical management can try to address specific needs, such as nutritional support, insulin for those with diabetes, help quitting alcoholism, among others. In tribal areas of India, TB patients are more likely to have severe malnutrition and severe anaemia. 'I have looked at death reports from the tribal districts of female patients of 21- 23 years of age have died of drug-sensitive TB with no underlying co-morbidities.' A sincere TB death audit can help us avert such tragedies in future. Dr Swaminathan hopes that in the next National Strategic Plan to end TB of government of India, we would find these gaps that put people at risk of TB death and address them effectively. We also need to have a similar approach in other southeast Asian countries as well, she said. 'Reducing TB mortality significantly can be achieved.' Learnings must come from people on the ground 'Learnings must come from people on the ground, such as, district TB officers, treatment supervisors, laboratory supervisors, TB health visitors, ASHAs (India's voluntary female health workers formally called Accredited Social Health Activists), and of course the patients themselves – as they are the ones who can actually tell you what works well and what does not. We have to make it a point to have a forum where their voices are heard so that we can improve the way in which the programme is designed,' suggests Dr Swaminathan. In India, Humana People to People India developed a model to care for those among the urban poor in 4 major cities of India. Humana's trained and supported team of frontline healthcare workers reached out regularly to homeless and migrant people in Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and peri-urban Mumbai, screened people for TB, supported those with TB symptoms to get an X-Ray and TB test done and seek treatment from the nearest government-run TB centre. Humana's team followed up with each patient every day, and addressed their needs and problems which they encountered during the therapy. For example, encouraging them to stay away from alcohol, providing them nutritional and counselling support, helping those who were too weak to 'even lift a glass or walk' to reach healthcare centres, coordinate with TB healthcare workers regarding treatment followup and help them get cured. Humana's model encourages people who were at heightened TB risk to take charge of their own lives, and seek healthcare and social support services (such as, nutritional or monetary support provided by the government of India or shelters for homeless). Supporting those who are at highest TB risk- especially those who live in most marginalised and vulnerable situations- so that they can get diagnosed early, seek effective treatment, and access support – so that they can finish their TB therapy, is vital if we are to end TB. Models like those developed by Humana People to People India (and proven to work) must be implemented in all high TB burden settings. Despite progress, a lot more needs to be done with urgency Dr Vineet Bhatia, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Advisor for TB for South-East Asian region, emphasises that access to TB services is critical towards achieving universal health coverage. 'Social protection measures such as cash transfers and nutritional support are essential for mitigating the social and economic impacts of TB. TB should be prioritised in national budgets, including through innovative financing mechanisms, such as social impact bonds and public private partnerships.' Dr Bhatia stresses upon the importance of meaningful community engagement and empowerment which should guide the designing, implementation and monitoring of TB programmes. Dr Bhatia enumerated several examples where countries in South-East Asian region have demonstrated leadership and political will to end TB. Bangladesh hosted WHO's 1st Global Forum on Advancing Multisectoral and Multistakeholder Engagement and Accountability to End TB in June 2024, India has made a foundational shift based on science and evidence to find all TB by screening everyone among high risk people and offering upfront molecular test diagnosis and linkage to care, as part of its 100 Days campaign and extending it to all districts nationwide. Indonesia's Presidential Decree on TB aims to implement a comprehensive strategy towards ending TB. Maldives has rolled out TB-free initiative. Myanmar was the only high TB burden country in South-East Asian region to achieve 2020 milestones for TB incidence decline. Nepal's TB free initiative at Palika-level aims at actively engaging subnational level systems in TB programmes. Thailand has made significant efforts to improve coverage for TB services under its commitment to achieve universal health coverage. Timor-Leste initiated a Partners' Pledge to end TB led by the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste for a multi-sectoral approach. South-East Asia region of the WHO is home to around 5 million people with TB (45% of all people with TB worldwide). The region also accounted 600,000 TB deaths – more than half of all TB deaths globally in 2023. 'While a lot is being done a lot more needs to be done and with urgency' rightly said Dr Bhatia. 'It is time to transform all our commitments and political declarations into actions. We need to accelerate efforts to achieve the global TB goals.' Shobha Shukla – CNS (Citizen News Service) (Shobha Shukla is the award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service) and is a feminist, health and development justice advocate. She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College and current Coordinator of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024). She also coordinates SHE & Rights initiative (Sexual health with equity & rights). Follow her on Twitter @shobha1shukla or read her writings here
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
A For Accountability And Audit For TB Deaths Is Missing In #EndTB Response
May 15, 2025 When TB is preventable and curable then why over 1.1 million people died of it worldwide in 2023 (as per the latest WHO Global TB Report 2024)? Even one TB death is a death too many. Most of these deaths took place in low- and middle-income countries. Unless we find what went wrong and what could have done better, how would we ever improve TB programmes in order to avert these untimely deaths? A young woman of 19 years old died of TB in Delhi (India). When experts looked at the case, it became evident that it was a failure of the system. This girl was a poor migrant worker. Her father had died of TB. Her sister too had TB. They were seeking healthcare from the private sector and they fell through the cracks. 'Probably, they could not continue the treatment regularly … nobody was tracking them… or following up on them ... and by the time she was admitted in LRS Institute (now known as National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases or NITRD), she had a very extensive bilateral disease and she ended up dying,' said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Principal Advisor of National TB Elimination Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Dr Soumya earlier served as Chief Scientist of World Health Organization (WHO) and Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). 'At NITRD they had put her on the ventilator, they did everything possible but could not save her,' said Dr Swaminathan. She was speaking at a special WHO session at World Health Summit regional meeting. A 19-years old girl died in India's national capital Delhi, which has state-of-the-art TB and healthcare infrastructure in public sector too. She died of drug-sensitive TB (which means her TB bacteria was NOT resistant to any TB medicine). 'Such cases are occurring everyday but are we paying attention to that? Are we learning lessons? Are we trying to improve the system?' asks Dr Swaminathan. Despite being curable, TB is the deadliest infectious disease globally TB is the deadliest infectious disease worldwide. It killed more people even during the COVID-19 pandemic in many high-burden TB settings. It mostly impacts the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable. So, given the inequities and injustices that ail us globally, it becomes less visible to those who are among the privileged few. India is home to the largest number of people with TB globally (2.8 million). WHO Global TB Report 2024 states that 323,200 TB deaths took place in India in 2023, which amounts to almost 900 TB deaths everyday. A for Accountability and A for Audit of every TB death is a must When governments united worldwide to reduce maternal mortality and adopted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, they delivered on it and maternal deaths declined significantly by 2015. 'Reducing maternal mortality had been among the important MDG goals. Governments and communities could deliver on it significantly through certain key interventions- like institutional deliveries and better antenatal and postnatal care, among others. To address the primary causes of maternal mortality, collectors of each district undertook a maternal death audits every month. For every maternal death which occurred, everybody had to sit together and understand and explain why that death was not preventable. Why cannot we have a similar approach to audit TB deaths?' asks Dr Soumya Swaminathan. 'I would suggest that a community medicine department or a public health department of a local medical college in that state be assigned this role to do TB audits. It should not be the TB programme itself doing TB death audit, but it should be presented with the analysis and reasons for TB deaths by those who are doing it,' said Dr Swaminathan. Many countries have made significant progress in reducing TB deaths. But still case fatality rate (number of people who die among those who are diagnosed) is high – it hovers around 10%. For example, in India out of 2.55 million cases that were notified to the TB programme, TB deaths were 323,200 (13%) in 2023. TB death rates are higher for drug-resistant forms of TB. 'China has a TB death rate of 3 per 100,000 population. India has a TB death rate of 22 per 100,000 population,' points out Dr Swaminathan, calling for stronger action to save lives. 'This high mortality for a disease that is treatable is of concern. TB mostly affects people who are in the 25-55 age group, which is an important economically productive one. If we calculate the economic loss to the country because of TB deaths- with people in economically productive age group falling ill and some even dying of TB- then it could be a huge economic burden as well. If we add secondary costs, then it would be way more,' said Dr Swaminathan. 'But more important than economic loss are those individuals who die of a preventable and treatable illness. We must do our best to understand the data and do proper analysis of TB deaths.' Dr Swaminathan shared an example from Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state where the state government has partnered with National Institute of Epidemiology (an institute of Indian Council of Medical Research) to audit TB deaths and help improve clinical management of TB patients to avert such deaths in future. Dr Swaminathan reflected that people need to get the right care at the right time. They may have TB disease but they also have other conditions, such as severe malnourishment, high blood pressure, diabetes, other co-morbidities, or they come from such a poor background that they cannot access the care they need. TB-related stigma lurks even today which further jeopardises equitable access to care and services. Alcoholism is another major risk factor for TB, she said. 'I have been to hospital wards and seen how people become sick or non-adherent to therapy due to alcoholism.' If we can identify early on, other co-morbidities or conditions a person with TB has then we can perhaps try to tailor our care and services to help and support them finish their TB treatment. She rued that 'Very often hospitals refuse admission for TB patients for one reason or the other.' Hospitals must not refuse admission to needy TB patients. She advises that TB related hospital admission and care should be covered with Indian government health insurance scheme so that hospitals get compensated for admitting and caring for a severely ill person. Once a person is admitted in the hospital then the medical management can try to address specific needs, such as nutritional support, insulin for those with diabetes, help quitting alcoholism, among others. In tribal areas of India, TB patients are more likely to have severe malnutrition and severe anaemia. 'I have looked at death reports from the tribal districts of female patients of 21- 23 years of age have died of drug-sensitive TB with no underlying co-morbidities.' A sincere TB death audit can help us avert such tragedies in future. Dr Swaminathan hopes that in the next National Strategic Plan to end TB of government of India, we would find these gaps that put people at risk of TB death and address them effectively. We also need to have a similar approach in other southeast Asian countries as well, she said. 'Reducing TB mortality significantly can be achieved.' Learnings must come from people on the ground "Learnings must come from people on the ground, such as, district TB officers, treatment supervisors, laboratory supervisors, TB health visitors, ASHAs (India's voluntary female health workers formally called Accredited Social Health Activists), and of course the patients themselves - as they are the ones who can actually tell you what works well and what does not. We have to make it a point to have a forum where their voices are heard so that we can improve the way in which the programme is designed," suggests Dr Swaminathan. In India, Humana People to People India developed a model to care for those among the urban poor in 4 major cities of India. Humana's trained and supported team of frontline healthcare workers reached out regularly to homeless and migrant people in Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and peri-urban Mumbai, screened people for TB, supported those with TB symptoms to get an X-Ray and TB test done and seek treatment from the nearest government-run TB centre. Humana's team followed up with each patient every day, and addressed their needs and problems which they encountered during the therapy. For example, encouraging them to stay away from alcohol, providing them nutritional and counselling support, helping those who were too weak to 'even lift a glass or walk' to reach healthcare centres, coordinate with TB healthcare workers regarding treatment followup and help them get cured. Humana's model encourages people who were at heightened TB risk to take charge of their own lives, and seek healthcare and social support services (such as, nutritional or monetary support provided by the government of India or shelters for homeless). Supporting those who are at highest TB risk- especially those who live in most marginalised and vulnerable situations- so that they can get diagnosed early, seek effective treatment, and access support - so that they can finish their TB therapy, is vital if we are to end TB. Models like those developed by Humana People to People India (and proven to work) must be implemented in all high TB burden settings. Despite progress, a lot more needs to be done with urgency Dr Vineet Bhatia, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Advisor for TB for South-East Asian region, emphasises that access to TB services is critical towards achieving universal health coverage. "Social protection measures such as cash transfers and nutritional support are essential for mitigating the social and economic impacts of TB. TB should be prioritised in national budgets, including through innovative financing mechanisms, such as social impact bonds and public private partnerships." Dr Bhatia stresses upon the importance of meaningful community engagement and empowerment which should guide the designing, implementation and monitoring of TB programmes. Dr Bhatia enumerated several examples where countries in South-East Asian region have demonstrated leadership and political will to end TB. Bangladesh hosted WHO's 1st Global Forum on Advancing Multisectoral and Multistakeholder Engagement and Accountability to End TB in June 2024, India has made a foundational shift based on science and evidence to find all TB by screening everyone among high risk people and offering upfront molecular test diagnosis and linkage to care, as part of its 100 Days campaign and extending it to all districts nationwide. Indonesia's Presidential Decree on TB aims to implement a comprehensive strategy towards ending TB. Maldives has rolled out TB-free initiative. Myanmar was the only high TB burden country in South-East Asian region to achieve 2020 milestones for TB incidence decline. Nepal's TB free initiative at Palika-level aims at actively engaging subnational level systems in TB programmes. Thailand has made significant efforts to improve coverage for TB services under its commitment to achieve universal health coverage. Timor-Leste initiated a Partners' Pledge to end TB led by the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste for a multi-sectoral approach. South-East Asia region of the WHO is home to around 5 million people with TB (45% of all people with TB worldwide). The region also accounted 600,000 TB deaths - more than half of all TB deaths globally in 2023. "While a lot is being done a lot more needs to be done and with urgency" rightly said Dr Bhatia. "It is time to transform all our commitments and political declarations into actions. We need to accelerate efforts to achieve the global TB goals." Shobha Shukla – CNS (Citizen News Service) (Shobha Shukla is the award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service) and is a feminist, health and development justice advocate. She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College and current Coordinator of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024). She also coordinates SHE & Rights initiative (Sexual health with equity & rights). Follow her on Twitter @shobha1shukla or read her writings here
Time of India
28-04-2025
- Health
- Time of India
India led with compassion during COVID-19, sharing 300 million vaccines globally: Piyush Goyal
New Delhi: Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, addressed the World Health Summit (WHS) Regional Meeting Asia 2025, held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi today. According to the release, Goyal highlighted India's proactive and compassionate global response during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Vaccine Maitri initiative , India provided nearly 300 million vaccine doses to less developed and vulnerable countries, many of which were provided free of cost, ensuring that no nation was left behind. Goyal emphasised that, unlike many other nations that imposed export controls during the COVID-19 pandemic, India prioritised equitable access for all, staying true to its ancient ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -- "the world is one family." Speaking on the occasion, Goyal expressed gratitude that the first WHS Regional Meeting in Asia was focused on "Scaling Access to Ensure Health Equity ". He noted that access to quality healthcare is a critical part of sustainable development and shared India's journey in achieving greater healthcare access for all. The Minister recalled personal interactions with global leaders during the pandemic, noting how India ensured the supply of critical medicines at fair prices, resisting the trend of profit-making from global health crises. Addressing the theme of Health Equity, Goyal strongly criticised attempts to extend pharmaceutical patents through minor incremental innovations, which, he said, could deprive millions of access to affordable medicines. He urged the WHS delegates to experience firsthand India's efforts to deliver quality healthcare even in remote regions. Goyal highlighted that more than 620 million people are now eligible for free healthcare under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the world's largest government-sponsored health insurance program, emphasising that India's commitment was never driven by profit but by compassion. The release also stated. Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Goyal said, "For us, healthcare is not just curing a sick patient. Healthcare is preventive healthcare, it is wellness, it is mental healthcare, and it means bridging society under the umbrella of a better lifestyle and a better future." He elaborated on India's holistic approach to human welfare, highlighting the Swachh Bharat Mission which ensures dignity and sanitation, especially for women. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, with over 40 million homes already built and millions more underway; the Jal Jeevan Mission, which has expanded tap water access from 30 million to 160 million rural homes; the Ujjwala Yojana, providing free cooking gas connections to protect women from indoor air pollution; and the distribution of free food grains to 800 million citizens during and beyond the pandemic. Goyal asserted that physical health, mental wellness, clean environments, quality education, digital connectivity, and economic empowerment together form the basis of a truly healthy society. He closed by reaffirming India's commitment to the global health agenda and urged all nations to collaborate towards a healthier, more equitable future for every citizen of the world.
Time of India
27-04-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Treating Healthcare as a Service Is Key to Accessibility and Affordability: Mandaviya
New Delhi: To ensure equitable access to healthcare across the country, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya emphasised that healthcare should be viewed as a service, not a business. 'For the world, health may be commerce, but for India, it is service. To make health accessible, we must make it affordable — and that begins by treating it as a service, not a business. When service, not profit, drives healthcare, it reaches the last mile,' said Mandaviya the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and former Union Minister of Health, speaking at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in New Delhi. The World Health Summit (WHS) Regional Meeting 2025 was conducted on the theme 'Scaling Access to Ensure Health Equity.' The event was hosted by the National Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) as a member of the WHS Academic Alliance, in collaboration with Ashoka University and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Inaugurating the summit, Anurag Thakur, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), said, 'In a world where quality healthcare often remains a privilege, India, with over 1.43 billion people, has made bold strides to democratize healthcare — moving from selective interventions to a citizen-centric model rooted in financial protection and primary care. As we aim to become a developed nation by 2047, healthcare will remain central to our journey.' 'India will grow from a $4 trillion to a $30 trillion economy by 2047, driven by human development and better quality of life — with health at its core. This is not just India's digital decade; it's India's health decade,' added Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Sherpa and former CEO of NITI Aayog. Meanwhile, participating in a panel discussion on the accreditation of digital health services, Dr. Anurag Agrawal, Dean of BioSciences at Ashoka University, underlined that digital health and next-generation technologies like AI are playing a pivotal role in enhancing last-mile delivery of health services. 'However, significant gaps still persist in India and across South Asia. We need to address these gaps, foster collaboration, and identify scalable solutions to improve health outcomes for all,' he added.
Time of India
27-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Get evergreening patent requests very often, these benefit select few cos: Piyush Goyal
New Delhi: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Sunday said that India 'very often' gets requests to grant fresh patents for a longer period of time to pharmaceutical companies for the incremental changes to their patents, called 'evergreening'. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack India stares at a 'water bomb' threat as it freezes Indus Treaty India readies short, mid & long-term Indus River plans Shehbaz Sharif calls India's stand "worn-out narrative" At the World Health Summit Regional meeting, he said that this is 'so sad' as the world has to suffer for the supernatural profits of a select few companies and their shareholders. His statement assumes significance as earlier this month, the US flagged the restriction on patent-eligible subject matter in Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act which prohibits the grant of 'evergreening' patents, which are additional patents for a drug with no therapeutic benefit, and are seen to increase the term of a patent monopoly. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas In Dubai | Search Ads View Deals Undo 'I receive this request very often that we should also allow pharmaceutical companies the ability to have incremental changes to their patents and allow them to have a fresh patent for another long period of time. We normally understand that as evergreening of patents,' Goyal said. The UK and the EU have also sought amendments in India's Patents Act to allow the 'evergreening' of patents, especially in pharma. Live Events 'It is so sad that just for the supernatural profits of a select few companies and possibly their shareholders, the world has to suffer. The world is deprived of quality healthcare is deprived of equitable healthcare,' Goyal said at the event. The US Trade Representative has said that it continues to monitor the restriction on patent-eligible subject matter in Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act and its impacts. 'Pharmaceutical stakeholders continue to raise concerns as to whether India has an effective system for protecting against unfair commercial use and unauthorized disclosure of undisclosed test or other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products,' USTR said in its foreign trade barriers report earlier this month. At the event, Goyal called for working towards global critical trials and research, particularly on traditional medicines, setting high standards of safety without compromising on compliances and making it easier to comply with the needs of scientific evidence. Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi , he said: 'For us, healthcare is not just curing a sick patient. Healthcare is preventive healthcare, it is wellness, it is mental healthcare, and it means bridging society under the umbrella of a better lifestyle and a better future'. He also highlighted that more than 620 million people are now eligible for free healthcare under the Ayushman Bharat scheme , the world's largest government-sponsored health insurance programme, emphasizing that India's commitment was never driven by profit but by compassion.
