AMN / WEB DESK
Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh has said that India is committed to ensure accessibility and affordability of vaccines for all.
Addressing the Seventh Annual Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals of UN, Dr Jitendra Singh said, India has been strongly advocating for the principle of equity in the WHO and has also proposed, along with South Africa, a TRIPS waiver at the WTO for COVID vaccines, diagnostics, and medicines. He said, India is working actively with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), World Health Organization (WHO) and the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator to realize this goal.
Dr Jitendra Singh said the enormous power of digital and information technology has been a key component of the global response to Covid. He added, that utilizing India’s strength in the digital space, New Delhi decided to share with the world, India-developed Co-WIN App, to provide digital support to better organize vaccination drives. The Minister highlighted, that India has long been fostering Science Technology and Innovation and nurturing an enabling ecosystem to incubate and scale revolutionary ideas, help improve the quality of life of people and provide solutions to global problems.
Dr Singh asserted that country’s scientific community, along with the support of a robust pharmaceutical industry, has been successful in developing and producing safe, effective, and affordable vaccines, including the world’s first DNA-based vaccine.