India raises concern over WHO's claim of excess mortality

New Delhi: In his address to the 75th session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva on Monday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya raised concern over WHO's recent claim of all-cause excess mortality.

"It is with a sense of dismay and concern that India notes WHO's recent exercise on all-cause excess mortality where our country specific authentic data published by the statutory authority has not been taken into account," said Mandaviya.

The Health Minister conveyed the collective disappointment of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare, a representative body of health ministers from all states of India, as they passed a unanimous resolution regarding the approach and methodology of WHO on excess mortality reports.

Mandaviya also exhorted India's commitment to build a more resilient global health security architecture.

Underscoring the need to strengthen the WHO, Mandaviya said, "As highlighted by the Prime Minister of India, there is a need to build a resilient global supply chain to enable equitable access to vaccines and medicines, streamlining WHO's approval process for vaccines and therapeutics and strengthen WHO to build a more resilient global health security architecture."

As a responsible member of the global community, India is ready to play a key role in these efforts, he added.

"India believes that this year's theme linking peace and health is timely and pertinent because there can be no sustainable development and universal health and wellbeing without peace," Mandaviya said.