Shared Priorities

The first India–Africa Health Sciences Meet (September 01-03, 2016) broadly focused on how capacities can be jointly built and strengthened by India and African nations in health and research, to improve healthcare delivery, address diseases of common concern and achieve shared health goals. The Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, J.P. Nadda pens his thoughts on India-Africa partnership in health sciences and research…

India and Africa have shared a special relationship in the past and continue to do so. It is pillared on numerous similarities, including historic relations, freedom struggles, a huge Indian diaspora in many African nations, and the fact that a significant majority of our populations is under the age of 35. We have an opportunity and responsibility to utilize this demographic dividend to its full potential.
The father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi’s determination for freedom of India has roots in Africa which eventually led to independence of our country. India and Africa share many things in common including in the area of health. In the decades following India’s independence, the principle of South-South cooperation, particularly in the context of the non-aligned movement, has been at the forefront of our engagement with Africa.
India and Africa are now coming closer to establish co-operation in the area of health to promote their mutual interests. We must pool in our collective strengths and resources to ensure these diseases are fought using innovative tools and approaches, and benefit from each other’s skills and experiences in this regard. Our responsibility towards our youth also includes providing them opportunities to contribute in meaningful ways to crafting innovative solutions to human problems, including fighting diseases, poor health and nutrition, and pandemics.
We, therefore, need to ensure our youth have opportunities to pursue higher education and professions in medical science, biomedical research, pharmaceutical manufacturing, designing innovative diagnostic and medical devices, and other allied disciplines.
The India-Africa partnership, touted as a partnership of equals, is pillared on numerous similarities – social, financial and political. Our common concerns and fight against poverty, nutrition, sanitation, infrastructure, health and healthcare delivery, all demand innovative, sustainable and most importantly, regionally relevant solutions. Cognizant to this demand, India is shouldering the responsibility and has taken a step forward in setting up platforms like the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS).

India has committed substantial support towards the development of Africa with dedicated focus on capacity building, sharing of technical know-how and globally collaborative academic linkages between the two regions through existing efforts. Building on the follow up of this prestigious summit and centered on its motto of Reinvigorated Partnerships – Shared Vision, the effort is to strengthen and leverage our regional synergies to contest shared challenges in health sciences. It thus becomes logical to streamline and institute further innovative collaborations to ensure a long-term, self-reliant and self-sustaining India-Africa partnership in health sciences and disease research.
Since the 1990s, there have also been major national and international efforts and programmes to improve the health status of populations in developing and least developed countries. Africa with about 11% and India with approximately 17.6% of the world population are the two major focus areas of such programmes as general improvement in public health in these two regions will bring in major rewards in global productivity. The focused efforts towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), of which health related goals formed important areas, have yielded significant results in both Africa and India. Infant Mortality Rates (IMRs), Maternal Mortality Rates (MMRs) and incidence of deaths due to HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis have reduced considerably in both the regions.
It is for all to see that the persistent and intensive focus on maternal and child health has yielded dividends. Besides achieving and sustaining India’s polio-free status in March 2014, India has successfully eliminated maternal & neonatal tetanus in May 2015, well before the global target date of December, 2015. ‘Mission Indradhanush’- a drive to accelerate full immunization coverage, has been successfully implemented resulting in an annual increase of about 5-7% points as compared to 1% point during 2009-13.
India aims to achieve 90% full immunization coverage by 2020. Four new vaccines have been approved and introduced to tackle the vaccine preventable diseases in India in a record period of just one year. India has added another feather to its cap by eradicating Yaws in 2016. Although we do not have data from the Sample Registration Survey after 2013, India is projected to nearly achieve the MDG 4 and 5 while the MDG 6 goal to reverse the incidence of malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS has already been achieved. What is perhaps noteworthy is that India’s under-five mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio declined at a higher pace than global average. There has been a significant decline in Total Fertility Rate (TFR). The TFR in declined from 3.8 in 1990 to 2.9 in 2005 and further to 2.3 in the year 2013. 24 States/UTs already achieved replacement level of less than 2.1.
The noteworthy success of the MDGs have now prompted the world community to set new targets in health and other social indicators to be achieved in next 15 years in the form of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although only one goal is specifically on health, many other goals have serious implications for health sector. India, however, along with committing itself to the SDGs, has set its own agenda in health. It has announced “the attainment of the highest possible level of good health and well-being, through a preventive and promotive health care orientation in all developmental policies, and universal access to good quality health care services without any one having to face financial hardship as a consequence” as its goal in the Draft National Health Policy 2015.
The key policy principles for achieving this goal are equity, universality, patient-centred quality care, inclusive partnerships, pluralism, subsidiarity, accountability, professionalism, integrity & ethics, continuous adaptation and affordability. Some of the major programmes envisaged are for reduction of maternal mortality, achievement of single digit neonatal mortality and stillbirth rates through a careful community based intervention, universal immunization, population stabilization, women’s health and gender mainstreaming, integrated disease surveillance programme, control of tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, leprosy elimination, vector borne disease control, effective prevention and therapy of non-communicable diseases, better mental care, and disaster preparedness. Realizing the potential of Indian traditional systems of medicine in healthcare is also one of the major programmes.
At the same time, Africa has also, after much internal discussions set its health agenda referred to as Agenda 2063. Healthy and well-nourished citizens with long life spans are source of the goals of this agenda. It clearly lays down that by 2063, “every citizen will have full access to affordable and quality healthcare services” and Africa would have rid itself of all the neglected tropical diseases; put in place systems for significantly reduced non-communicable and lifestyle changes related diseases and reduced to zero deaths from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
The African population will be healthy and well nourished, enjoying a life expectancy of above 75 years. All barriers to access to quality health for women and girls would be non-existent. The Indian and African health agenda are reflective of the importance that the parties are giving to achievement of universal healthcare in the most feasible time frame. These new goals have to be taken into consideration in the formulation of development cooperation activities in the coming decades.
Organizing a summit like this at a very apt and opportune time aims at establishing a strong, reinvigorated, sustainable India-Africa partnership in health sciences and disease management that raises the efficacy and proficiency of Africa’s health research institutions, laboratories, universities, human resources, and policies in jointly addressing the growing burden of disease. This is to be achieved by: building scientific capacity and leadership in Africa, establishment of institutional linkages and joint health research projects, improving clinical access by establishing health service centres in Africa, facilitating effective, affordable and accessible drugs in Africa through joint manufacturing efforts and enhancing e-health and medical tourism opportunities.
Africa, though supported by international developmental agencies, continues to lack the most far-reaching intervention in the disease control arsenal – health research capacity and indigenous product development. In order to meet its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets, African nations are looking towards alleviating their health concerns and developing local scientific capacities for their specific disease prevention and management programmes.
India has fairly large health and biomedical research capabilities and disease management strategies and programmes. It has demonstrated that polio can be successfully eradicated; has set up centres of excellence in biomedical and health research, has advanced capacity in genomics, proteomics, and modern biology and established public and private clinical and educational centres of excellence. It has also proven itself as a global pharmaceutical powerhouse with significant drug, vaccine, nutraceutical, cosmeceutical and traditional medicine exports across the globe.
We have organized an exhibition showcasing the health and biomedical innovations by different scientific organizations which are available or in different phases of commercialization.
We will be happy to extend any support to African nations that they may need and mutually learn from their experience for strengthening of health systems and biomedical research. I sincerely hope that we will definitely achieve the objectives of the summit with the support and cooperation of all stakeholders and I assure my personal support and that of the Govt of India. This will usher in a new era of cooperation and in improving lives of communities both in India and the African continent.