The Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday invited world leaders to partner with India to make the world a healthier place in Davos during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023. Mandaviya added that the government is institutionalizing medical tourism through a new 'Heal In India' initiative.

The initiative will create an enabling framework for providing health services to the world at large, the minister said, inviting all the stakeholders to look at India as a land of opportunities and take advantage of the same by partnering with India.

"This endeavour would lead towards making India and the world a healthier place," he said while addressing a Health & Healthcare Community Dinner organized by the WEF.

“We are working towards augmenting health infrastructure and have initiated multiple schemes to strengthen health systems and improve health service delivery with a focus on quality, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare services,” Mandaviya said.

Talking about India's vision of according the topmost priority to healthcare as 'seva' (service), he said, “Be it the launch of the world's biggest government-funded health assurance scheme, PM Jan Aarogya Yojana covering approximately 500 million people or establishment of 150,000 health & wellness centres, we have put the vision of 'Antyodaya', that is, 'Rise of the last person' into action in healthcare and a key facet of ensuring Universal Health Coverage."

Mandaviya said India has the highest number of USFDA manufacturing plants outside the US, besides being a world leader in generic medicines. It has emerged as a hub for R&D activities and is one of the leading destinations for high-end diagnostic services, he added.

Mandaviya also held a bilateral meeting with Karl Wilhelm Lauterbach, Federal Minister of Health of Germany, and lauded the cooperation shown by the German counterparts while expressing hopes of continuing and strengthening this cooperation in the future as well.

(With PTI inputs)