On September 23rd, 2019, during the 74th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly held in New York, the Prime Minister of India delivered addresses to two important meetings – the UN Climate Action Summit and the Universal Health Coverage meeting.
The UN Climate Action Summit
The Climate Action Summit was hosted by the UN Secretary. It aimed to raise ambition levels and accelerate action towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The key takeaways from the Prime Minister’s address at this summit included several significant commitments and initiatives. These are as follows:
– Renewable Energy: India has pledged to increase its renewable energy capacity beyond the previously committed 175 GW under the Paris Climate Agreement by 2022.
– Water Conservation: The country plans to invest approximately $50 billion in the upcoming years on the Jal Jeevan Mission dedicated to conserving water, harvesting rainwater, and developing water resources.
– International Solar Alliance: Close to 80 countries have joined this India-led initiative.
– Two International Initiatives: India, along with Sweden and other partners, announced a new ‘Leadership Group for Industry Transition’ to drive transformation in hard-to-decarbonize and energy-intensive sectors. Additionally, the ‘Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)’, an international partnership with a secretariat based in Delhi, aims to support nations in building climate and disaster resilient infrastructure.
Table: Key Facts about CDRI
| Founded In | Founding Nation | Aim |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | India | Building Climate and Disaster Resilient Infrastructure |
The Universal Health Coverage Meeting
During the first-ever high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage, the Prime Minister highlighted that ‘a healthy life is every person’s right’. He outlined four main pillars of healthcare on which India is focusing:
– Preventive Healthcare: The country emphasizes yoga, ayurveda, and fitness to control lifestyle diseases. Initiatives like the Fit India Movement and the Clean India Campaign have contributed to health improvement.
– Immunization: The government has improved access to vaccination in remote areas and introduced new vaccines.
– Affordable Healthcare: Ayushman Bharat, the world’s largest health insurance scheme, has been rolled out. This scheme enables 500 million poor people to avail treatment worth up to Rs. 500,000 every year for free. Additionally, more than 5000 special pharmacies have been opened to make over 800 varieties of essential medicines affordable. The cost of heart stents and knee implants has been significantly reduced.
– Supply Side Intervention and Mission Mode Intervention: The focus has been on the establishment of modern institutions for quality medical education and launching of mission mode programmes targeted towards improving the health of women and children.
Lastly, it is noteworthy that India has made a commitment to eliminate Tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the global goal of 2030. The world leaders at the meeting collectively adopted the United Nations Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), to be achieved by 2030.
