The first India-Africa Health Summit on 17 December, held amid the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic, saw some esteemed panellists who shared their critical insights, including V Muraleedharan (MOS External Affairs, India), Dr Lia Tadesse (Minister of Health, Ethiopia), Rajesh Bhushan (Union Health Secretary, MOHFW, India), H.E. Alem Tsehaye Woldemariam (dean, African Missions In India), Dr Amit N. Thakker (president, AHF & Executive Chairman, Africa Health Business), Daniel Bursa (Chief of Staff, Ministry of Ethiopia) and Preetha Reddy (president, NatHealth & vice chairperson, Apollo Hospitals).
The India-Africa Health Summit 2020, backed by PWC India, IPE Global, HealthBiz Insight and Avian We, was a first-of-its-kind landmark event which aimed to foster south-to-south collaboration between the healthcare industries of India and Africa. The objective of the event was not only to come up with suitable solutions that would help make universal health coverage a reality across the world but also address some critical issues and chalk out a path in transforming the healthcare trajectories of India and Africa through effective partnership.
Speaking about the need for an India-Africa Health Summit in the first place, Dr Preetha Reddy, in the inaugural address, said, “In today’s world, all of our plans have gone completely out of the window because of what has happened with the pandemic. Having said that, humanity is looking to come back stronger, collaborate and innovate more. That is the reason for us to talk to each other and say, ‘How can we jointly do so much better?’ We all know that health and education are fundamental rights, but health actually takes a precedent over everything else. The thought that the federation has come together with NatHealth, to me, is extremely significant. It may be a small step today but it is the beginning of a long, exciting and committed journey.” “By 2050, if we combine the populations between India and Africa, we will actually be the strongest force,” she added.
Looking at the pandemic as an opportunity, Dr Thakker opined, “They say crisis leads to an opportunity and this pandemic has created some good news at the end of the year, where India and Africa are going to cement in the way they deal with health systems so that billions of lives can be better and we can increase our life expectancy.” Further citing how the African healthcare system has changed over the years, Dr Thakker revealed that, about 18 years ago, people in Africa realised that the public and private sectors should work together to improve maternal health and child health and improve infant mortality by engaging the public sector in producing evidence-based policies. Little did they know that when 7 companies would come together, it would spur out a single voice in every country, and eventually become the federation of healthcare. Kenya began about 15-18 years ago and since then the same model has been used in almost 27 African countries, where these federations engage with ministries on a regular basis to create a more enabling environment for better health for both public and private sectors.
Representing the Government of India on the panel, Rajesh Bhushan highlighted the rich and long-standing historical and cultural ties between the two nations and called the collaboration between NatHealth and Africa Healthcare Federation ‘an integral part of the overall umbrella of cooperation between India and Africa’.
Likewise, Dr Lia Tadesse spoke about the long-standing history of collaboration between India and Africa and expressed, “Covid-19 has exposed our weaknesses and challenged even the most advanced health systems and strongest economies. More than ever, this pandemic has shown us how interconnected our world is. It has brought forth the importance of solidarity, resilient health systems and the need for universal health coverage.” Listing the steps taken by the public and private sectors of Ethiopia to fight the pandemic, Dr Lia added, “India and Africa’s future is closely interlinked. Our private sectors and entrepreneurs further strengthen our partnership, creating a win-win scenario. Ethiopia looks forward to a closer and stronger collaboration between Africa and India.”
Calling the event an important moment that will mark our collective responsibility and continued commitment, Daniel Bursa said, “The pandemic has proved that even countries like us have opportunities for revising and building resilient health systems through collaborative partners and efforts from the global community including the private sector.” Meanwhile, H.E. Alem Tsehaye Woldemariam pointed out that Covid-19 has created challenges for African countries, but also offered many opportunities.
Praising the timing of a health summit between India and Africa, V Muraleedharan said, “India enjoys a special relationship with the countries of Africa because of our shared civilisational values, anti-colonial struggle and age-old people-to-people ties. After Independence, our relationship with African countries has grown manifold and matured into an enduring partnership, both in the regional and global contexts. Therefore, I consider this subject very timely since both India and the fellow developing countries of Africa are facing the common threat of Covid-19. Currently, we are all witnessing a major health crisis in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has affected most of our established practices, norms and regulations and has emerged as the biggest disruptor.”
Talking about how the effect of the pandemic is not only being seen in health infrastructure, he added, “The primary impact of this disruption has been economic. That’s why our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has said that, in our fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, we should focus both on jaan and jahaan. The pandemic has underlined the importance of ensuring the supply chain diversification and resilience, especially in the healthcare sector. It has made countries re-access their infrastructural requirements, focus on availability of medicines as well as the development of reliable supply chains for critical healthcare products.”