India is not only at the forefront of the race to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the country is also implementing a digitized network to deliver the vaccine to its citizens, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his speech. opening. at the opening of the 2020 Grand Challenges meeting. The meeting, which will last until October 21, was to be held in New Delhi before the pandemic and is taking place for the virtual first time.
“India is at the forefront of vaccine development for Covid-19, some are in advanced stages. We will not stop here. India is already working to put a well-established vaccine delivery system in place. This digitized network along with digital health IDs will be used to ensure the immunization of our citizens, ”he said.
The prime minister highlighted the need for collaborative science and innovation to tackle big problems.
“The journey to innovation must be made through collaboration and public participation. Science will never prosper in silos and the big challenges are well understood. It took a global pandemic for us to realize once again the importance of teamwork. After all, diseases do not have geographic borders. They do not discriminate on the basis of faith, race, gender or color, ”he said.
Grand Challenges, which was launched in 2003 by the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation, fosters innovation to solve key challenges in global health and development. The initiative focuses on fourteen major challenges including nutrition, vaccine development, development of a needle-free delivery system for the vaccine, cure for chronic infections, among others.
In the opening session, Bill Gates emphasized the need to investigate three vital fields to remain prepared for the next pandemic: development of vaccine platforms so that vaccines against new infections can be developed and manufactured quickly, monoclonal antibodies, and more effective forms of manufacture them. quickly for a pandemic situation, and diagnostic platforms that are sensitive and specific and widely available so that large numbers of people can be accurately examined and diagnosed.
“Given the magnitude of this pandemic, we were not prepared for it. But we will be better prepared next time, ”Gates said.
In addition to addressing the challenges related to Covid-19, three major new challenges have been launched this year: integrating tradition and technology of fermented foods for maternal nutrition, new approaches to integrating molecular surveillance into disease control programs. Malaria and Smart Agricultural Innovations for Smallholders. .
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