COVID-19: ‘Combating COVID-19 pandemic requires global collaboration, India’s role is key’, Bill Gates emphasised, following his video interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the video conference interaction between PM Modi and Gates, COVID-19 formed the crux of their discussion, given the importance of a globally coordinated response against the Coronavirus pandemic. Bill Gates, who is a co-chair of Melinda Gates foundation, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter for the ‘conversation’ and ‘partnership’. During his video interaction, Gates placed emphasis on scientific innovation and research and innovation in combat response against the Coronavirus pandemic.
Placing emphasis on India’s multi-pronged, conscious approach to tackling Coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted how the country ensured public engagement through proper messaging with a people-centric, bottom-up approach on various aspects of health and safety protocols. Be it wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, demonstrating respect for front-line workers, and adhering to lockdown provisions to minimize the impact of the virus spread, India has shown the importance of stepping up public engagement while fighting COVID-19. Be it popularising cleanliness and hygiene through the Swachh Bharat Mission, drawing upon the strengths of India’s ancient Ayurvedic health ecosystem to boost and strengthen people’s natural immunity, the health and development initiatives taken by the Modi government to also ensure last-mile delivery of prompt health services to the needy and the distressed in rural India were also touched upon in the discussion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke highly of the efforts being put in by the Melinda Gates Foundation across the world in coordinating the global response against the Coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 3 million people until now.
Had an extensive interaction with @BillGates. We discussed issues ranging from India’s efforts to fight Coronavirus, work of the @gatesfoundation in battling COVID-19, role of technology, innovation and producing a vaccine to cure the pandemic. https://t.co/UlxEq72i3L
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 14, 2020
PM Narendra Modi and Bill Gates also discussed India’s model of public health service which is based on last-mile service delivery in rural areas, development of a contact-tracing mobile app. They discussed the positioning of the Indian pharmaceutical industry and how India can leverage its potential by producing drugs and vaccines on a mass scale as soon a successful discovery will take place. The leaders discussed India’s place in the global discussion for coordinating a response to the pandemic for the willingness it has shown to help other countries and especially fellow developing countries and the capacity it has to deliver on the promise of help.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi further indicated his suggestion on the larger role Gates foundation can play in the post-COVID world. PM Modi suggested that the Gates Foundation can take the lead in evaluating the requisite behavioral improvements, economic institutions, educational modes, and healthcare that need to be tackled by the world after the pandemic will subside. Through this video interaction, PM Modi has also shown India’s willingness in contributing to that analysing exercise based on its expertise.
