Global Covid Summit: PM Modi Says Who Must be Reformed, India Ready to Play Key Role

The second edition of the ‘Global Covid Summit’ was hosted virtually by the United States of America. The summit was led by the President of the USA.

At the invitation of the U.S. President, the Indian Prime Minister addressed the summit through video conference on the topic ‘Preventing Pandemic Fatigue and Prioritizing Preparedness’. He also participated in the First Global Virtual COVID Summit on September 22, 2021. 

Other participants are co-hosts of the event - Heads of State/Government of Belize in its capacity as Chair of CARICOM, Senegal as Chair of African Union, Indonesia as President of G20, and Germany as President of G7 respectively. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Director General of World Health Organization and other dignitaries would also participate.

The Indian Prime Minister calls for the World Health Organisation (WHO) needs to be reformed and strengthened to "build a more resilient global health security architecture". He also called for streamlining the WHO's approval process for vaccines and therapeutics in order to keep supply chains stable.

Against the COVID-19 pandemic, India is following a ‘people-centric strategy’ in vaccinating the population. This is the largest vaccination programme in the world. India manufactures four WHO-approved vaccines and has the capacity to produce five billion doses this year. The vaccines are COVAXIN, AstraZeneca, covishield, and Corbevax.

Also, India is using traditional medicines in India to improve the immunity of the human body to fight against various diseases.

   Important points for the exam:

• The second edition of the Global Covid Summit was hosted virtually by the United States of America. The summit was led by the President of the USA.
• At the invitation of the U.S. President, the Indian Prime Minister addressed the summit through video conference on the topic ‘Preventing Pandemic Fatigue and Prioritising Preparedness’. 
• He also participated in the First Global Virtual COVID Summit on September 22, 2021. 
• India is following a ‘people-centric strategy’ in vaccinating the population. This is the largest vaccination programme in the world. India supplied over 200 million doses to 98 countries.

   Facts to know:

• President of USA: Mr.Joe Biden.
• Capital of USA: Washington, D.C. - it is the headquarters of the World Bank.
• Corbevax is a vaccine to treat COVID-19 for 12 and 14 years of age in India.