Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed the 76th Session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva on the occasion of the organization completing 75 years as a global health agency.

In his speech, Modi drew the attention of the body to the gaps in the global health infrastructure which were felt acutely during the COVID-19 pandemic and called for a collective effort in building resilient global systems and boosting global health equity.

Referring to India’s contribution to the fight against Corona, the Prime Minister said India shipped almost 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 100 countries including many countries from the Global South.  He offered assistance to the organization in enabling and providing equal access to health resources especially to developing countries.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the benefits of traditional Indian medical systems—Yoga, Ayurveda and meditation— and expressed pride that WHO’s first Global Centre for Traditional Medicine is being established in India to cater to traditional methods of healing.

The PM also highlighted India’s health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat, which is the largest of its kind in the world and asserted that an “approach which works with the scale of India’s diversity can also become a framework for other nations.”

The role of global institutions like the WHO will be even more important for the challenges that lie ahead in the future, Modi said adding that India will be committed to building a healthier world.