New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday interacted with heads of foreign missions from almost 100 partner countries on Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJAP) in presence of Union Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar here.
“In line with India’s ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, Indian pharmaceuticals Industry is playing a leading role in the global market and have been working tirelessly to contribute towards greater good of mankind to ensure abundant availability of good quality pharmaceuticals of mass consumption at reasonable prices,” said Mandaviya.
Mandaviya reinforced the need for improving sectors such as health and pharma across the world, especially in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. He said that India’s steadfast commitment to work with partner countries shows our dedication in creating vibrant relationships and deepening this collaboration further from just trade to welfare.
Leveraging strong presence of India across the globe in generics, Mandaviya said, “India is rightfully called the pharmacy of the world. With 50 per cent exports and one of every five generic pills worldwide being produced in India, we contribute in a big way for making medicines affordable for people in many countries across the globe.”
He invited countries to look at the best practices by India and voluntarily implement them in their countries as per their local needs. The Health Minister further emphasised India’s goal that remains ‘to focus on improving equitability, inclusivity along with access and affordability of medicines and medical devices for our citizens and to the world’.
He said that “the government has strived to provide affordable healthcare through interventions such as cashless treatment, establishment of Health and Wellness Centers (AB-HWCs), and popularizing generic medicines through Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana”.
Reiterating the benefits of Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana, the Health Minister said that “this flagship program strives to provide quality medicines at an affordable rate to the common man especially the poor, priced 50-80 per cent less than that of the commercial market”. Along with these benefits, Mandaviya highlighted that “Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana is a source for entrepreneurs to start retail businesses, provides widespread benefit to citizens and required budgetary support is low for governments”.
Highlighting the health aspect in globalisation, S. Jaishankar stated that “health cost is central to the core of the governance and prosperity. Even among developed countries, given the income disparity, the whole global debate on how to make health accessible has brought us together”.
He noted that in this globalised world, “Triple A linkage” of Affordability, Accessibility and Availability needs to be focused upon. He was hopeful that global interdependence, inter-linkages can also provide solutions for everyone which was also witnessed during the pandemic period. With this, Dr. S. Jaishankar offered all the necessary support to partner countries to help them establish and implement public centric schemes akin to Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana in their countries.
Through a detailed presentation, the granular details of the scheme were showcased. Over 1759 medicines (40 plus Major Therapeutic Groups) to 280 surgical equipment and consumables are available at Jan Aushadhi kendras.
Number of outlets and the sales volume have increased by more than 100 times in past 8 years. On an average 1.2 million persons visit Jan Aushadhi outlets every day.
