India's fight against COVID sets positive global example: Gates Foundation's Mark Suzman

Mark Suzman, CEO of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Mark Suzman, CEO of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said India's fight against the COVID crisis has set a positive global example. He also said that it can be a model for others on how India addressed the manufacturing and distribution of vaccines at such a scale.

“We were proud to be able to work with the Indian government and with partners like the Serum Institute of India, to help manufacture some of the vaccines and to help with some of the primary health care facilities to help with distribution and in some of the states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where we work closely, but it really is a model both because of the direct COVID response, but also because the infrastructure that's been put in place has lots of positive effects by other forms of healthcare,” Suzman told ANI.

The latest data on inoculation by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare says that over 2.2 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered so far.

Elaborating on the challenges faced by the world during and after the pandemic, Suzman emphasised that a big part of the world's economies are likely to be in recession.

“Yes, well, globally COVID has had a devastating impact. And not just in terms of the direct impact of the disease itself, but the knock-on impact on economic growth on poverty on health. So across large parts, I think around a third of the developing world is likely to be in recession," he said.

Suzman emphasised that in the midst of the pandemic, India has appeared as a 'bright spot'.

“From vaccination campaigns to nutrition campaigns to sanitation campaigns... and so in all of those areas, we're trying to sound the call to action and saying the world really needs to support and engage much more deeply so that we can start to accelerate progress again."

Commenting on India’s G20 Presidency, the Gates foundation CEO said the Indian government has already shown a strong commitment to driving forward in mitigating global health issues.

“And so I think at the Government of India’s stated ambition to try and tackle both those things, the issues of pandemic preparedness and global health response, so that we can both finish the job on COVID and be ready to address the next pandemic," he said.