Statement by India under Agenda Item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health at the 53rd Session of Human Rights Council (19 June - 14 July 2023) delivered by Mr. S. Senthil Kumar, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India, Geneva, 22 June 2023 Statement by India under Agenda Item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the righ..
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Statement by India under Agenda Item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health at the 53rd Session of Human Rights Council (19 June - 14 July 2023) delivered by Mr. S. Senthil Kumar, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India, Geneva, 22 June 2023

Statement by India under Agenda Item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health at the 53 rd Session of Human Rights Council (19 June - 14 July 2023) delivered by Mr. S. Senthil Kumar, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India, Geneva, 22 June 2023

Mr. Vice-President,

We welcome the SR’s presentation and take due note of her report’s conclusions and recommendations. The full version of this Statement will be uploaded on the extranet.

2. We are of the view that digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, have the potential for transforming healthcare for the realisation of the right to health, especially to support universal health coverage targets. We agree that for sustainable use of these technological tools, there is need to also focus on aspects such as security and privacy.

3. In India, digital interventions have become the foundation of many crucial health programs such as those for reproductive and child health, tuberculosis, integrated disease surveillance, and hospital information system, among others.

Mr. Vice-President,

4. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into focus the need for utilizing technology in the field of healthcare to transform service delivery and ensure access for patients.

5. During the pandemic, the Government of India provided the Co-Win platform for end-to-end administration of vaccines, the e-Sanjeevani telemedicine platform, and Aarogya Setu, the Covid tracking and tracing app, as digital public goods, exemplifying our commitment to global health as well as to equitable access to critical health solutions.

6. Digital public goods can be crucial to promote democratisation of technologies across countries, particularly in low & middle-income countries. Hence, we have proposed a convergent approach for all ongoing digital health initiatives through the ‘Global Initiative on Digital Health’, as an institutional framework under overall guiding framework of WHO. The Global Medical Countermeasures Platform aims to ensure equitable access to safe, high-quality and cost-effective medical countermeasures with distributed manufacturing and R&D through regional networks.

I thank you.