Policy Vital For Medical Value Travel, Says MoS Bharati Pawar At G-20 Health

For centuries, traditional medicine has played a vital role in promoting health in communities worldwide, and it continues to be a first port of call and crucial resource for individuals, said Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, while inaugurating the session on Medical Value Travel of the 1st Health Working Group meeting under G-20 India Presidency on Thursday.

She highlighted the wide acceptance of traditional medicine and noted, “Traditional medicine is gaining worldwide recognition as effective tools for pain management and hold a lot of promise against antibiotic resistance too. Over 170 of 194 WHO Member States have also reported the use of traditional medicine.”

Dr Pawar lauded India’s efforts toward creating a unique ecosystem for holistic wellness and healthcare. She said, “India has been able to combine the best of modern and traditional medicine coupled with wellness treatments. Also, our health system offers quality treatment, having widespread availability and is one of the most affordable in the world.”

Encouraging the participants to promote value-based healthcare, Dr Pawar urged the stakeholders to discuss and enable equitable access to value-based healthcare services across the globe. Reiterating the need for a holistic policy framework to promote Medical Value Travel, she said, “Medical Value Travel across most of the countries is driven by private sector and while it facilitates provisioning of health services to needy patients cutting across geographical boundaries, the policy imperative to promote Medical Value Travel needs to gain momentum.”

“With G-20 India Presidency, we have the opportunity to create multilateral collaborations between countries, facilitated by knowledge sharing, leading to formulation of effective policies aiding accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare to citizens across the world. G-20 nations will forge a unique blueprint for the future of medical value travel through effective collaborations,” she said.

Highlighting the philosophy of 'Aarogyam Param Bhagyam, Swasthyam Sarwaarth Sadhanam', which translates as 'Good Health is the Greatest Fortune' and 'Health is the only way to Happiness in the World', Dr Pawar said, “Under G-20 India Presidency, we plan to strive for equitable access to healthcare for all and to help create a framework which can reduce disparities in healthcare availability across the world. India envisions to accelerate efforts towards increasing the pace of implementation of value-based healthcare and achieving the goal of Universal Health Coverage across the world.”