Bengaluru: World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus on Wednesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his strong commitment to Covax — a global vaccine pool led by WHO and Gavi — and for making Covid-19 vaccines a global public good. 

“The pandemic is an unprecedented challenge for the world, and we agreed to work shoulder to shoulder to end it,” Tedros tweeted.

 

He said, “Namaste, Prime Minister @narendramodi, for a very productive call on how to strengthen our collaboration & advance access to knowledge, research and training in traditional medicine globally. @WHO welcomes India's 🇮🇳 leading role in global health, & to universal health coverage.”

It was an excellent conversation, Prime Minister Modi said. “We discussed the vast potential of traditional medicine for promoting health and wellness in the world. I also assured India’s support to WHO and the world community in the fight against Covid-19,” PM Modi tweeted.

“Had an excellent conversation with DG of @WHO @DrTedros. We discussed the vast potential of traditional medicine for promoting health and wellness in the world. I also assured India's support to WHO and the world community in the fight against COVID-19.” 

The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for WHO's important role in facilitating a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a statement issued by the PMO said.

He also noted the need to not lose sight of the battle against other diseases and appreciated the importance of WHO's support to the health systems of developing countries.

“The Prime Minister and the Director General had a productive discussion on the value of Traditional Medicinal Systems, especially for enhancing wellness and immunity of the global population. They agreed on the need for integrating traditional medicine solutions into modern medical practice through holistic protocols, and for careful scientific validation of time-tested traditional medicine products and practices,” the PMO statement said.

PM Modi also informed Dr Tedros about the planned celebration of Ayurveda Day in India on November 13 under the theme of ‘Ayurveda for Covid-19’.