India continues to be a leading supplier of vaccines: Anupriya Patel

New Delhi:; India continues to be a leading supplier of vaccines, with 70 per cent of WHO's total vaccines being sourced from India. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Anupriya Patel at the inaugural session of the Second Policymakers’ Forum organised by Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC).

She further emphasized that “during the COVID-19 pandemic, India started the Vaccine Maitri initiative and supplied vaccines to more than 100 friendly countries which depicts India’s deep sense of responsibility towards global health and its intention of helping friendly countries in the times of distress.”

The Second Policymakers’ Forum, aimed at promoting recognition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia and collaboration in India’s flagship affordable medicines initiative—the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), is being organized by the IPC under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in association with the Ministry of External Affairs.

In her keynote address, Smt. Patel emphasized India’s commitment to ensuring equitable access to quality-assured medicines and stressed the importance of regulatory harmonization in facilitating global health equity. She also highlighted that “under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has emerged as a global hub for affordable healthcare solutions and continues to deepen its partnerships with nations through knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and health diplomacy.”

Underlining the importance of the Jan Aushadi Kendras, Smt. Patel stated that “our Jan Aushadhi Kendras are the shining examples of India’s commitment to provide quality and affordable medicines to all our citizens. Jan Aushadhi has been one of the most powerful instruments of bringing down the out-of-pocket expenditure of our citizens.”

Smt. Patel also added that “India continues to be a leader in drug manufacturing, especially when it comes to the generic medicines. 14% of generics imported by the US come from India while India also has the maximum number of US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recognized drug manufacturing plants.” She further underlined that “70% of our generics are exported to the highly regulated markets and our pharmacopeial regulations are regularly visited to meet the global benchmarks.”

Smt. Patel further stated that “we have retained the WHO’s Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) framework, Maturity Level 3 (ML3) status which reflects the robustness of India's regulatory framework. Presently, 15 countries in the world recognise Indian Pharmacopeia as a book of standards for drugs, Cuba recently becoming the 15th country to recognise the Indian Pharmacopeia.” She added that “it is not just a regulatory step, but a move towards bringing more alignment in the quality standards, expanding access to safe and effective drugs and making trade in pharmaceuticals smoother than ever before.”

Smt. Patel reaffirmed that “we are committed to helping our partner countries by way of communicating and planning” and “hope to continue to work together to advance the regulatory collaboration and promote the recognition of the pharmacopeial standards so that we can strive fast towards the shared goal of ‘Health for All’.”

Addressing the gathering, Union Health Secretary, Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava stated that “India subscribes to the vision of "One Earth, One Health " and is committed towards goal of universal health coverage which is also one of our primary health goals. To fulfil this, we have established more than 1.75 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (formerly known as Health and Wellness Centres) where free drugs and diagnostics are provided.” She also talked about India’s health assurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) that provides a health coverage of up to 5 lakhs per family and caters to the 40% population of the country and highlighted that “in 2004, the share of out-of-pocket expenditure in total health expenditure was 70%, which has come down to 40% today.”

Health Secretary further underlined that the increased availability of free drugs and diagnostics has been enabled by the production of generic medicines, noting that the number of free medicines provided at sub-health centres has risen from 36 to 106 over the past decade. She emphasized the role of AMRIT pharmacies in offering affordable branded medicines and medical devices, and noted that the forum will serve as a platform for bilateral cooperation, knowledge sharing, and future collaboration.

An international delegation of policymakers and drug regulators from 24 countries is participating in the forum. The event was also attended by Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava; Secretary (South), Ministry of External Affairs, Dr. Neena Malhotra; Drug Controller General of India and Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, IPC, Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvansi.