Rohit Shishodia
A three-day international conference on medical devices commenced in Delhi on November 19, 2019. The “2019 World Conference on Access to Medical Products Achieving the SDGs 2030,” at Delhi’s Taj Palace Hotel saw participation of Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey as also health ministers of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and senior officials of the Niti Aayog.

Inaugurating the conference, Dr Vardhan said that the discussions and knowledge sharing from this world conference need to be utilized for larger public welfare. “We must optimally develop a robust system of sharing knowledge and other resources to practically translate discussions from this platform into action,” he added.

The minister further said that this mega event will spur innovative thinking around issues surrounding provisioning of affordable, quality medical products as part of public health care delivery systems.  

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO, through a video message, said that with the increasing burden of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), the need for long term treatment, and the ensuing healthcare cost have increased.

“In addition, ageing population creates demand for more affordable assisted technologies. Advances in medical technologies everyday give hope to people for better healthcare. This simultaneously increases the pressure for providing affordable medical care. “Through our efforts we shall continue to put people first” he asserted.