National
Millets & Organics -2023: Three-day International Trade Fair
⇒ Millets & Organics 2023 – International Trade Fair began on 20 January 2023 in Thripuravasini, Bengaluru. The fair was concluded on 22nd January, 2023.
Organised by:
- The Millets & Organics International Trade Fair 2023, the largest fair was organised by the Department of Agriculture and KAPPEC, Government of Karnataka.
- International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) was the Knowledge partner.
Theme of conference:
A two-day International Conference on the theme “Millets & Organics: Opportunities amidst Challenges” was held during the Trade fair.
About trade fair:
- The trade fair is a platform for farmers, farmer groups, domestic and international companies, central and state institutions in organic and millet sector to connect and explore opportunities in agriculture, horticulture, processing, machinery and agri-technology.
- The Government of Karnataka has been a leader in promotion of millets – The first Organics and Millets Fair was held in 2017, the second and third editions in 2018 and 2019 in Bengaluru.
Key Points:
- The three-day event was divided in multiple segments including Exhibition, Pavilion, B2B networking and much more.
- Some of the key highlights from the fair included more than 250 stalls, millet and organic food court, buyer seller meets, international expo and conference, consumer connect, farmers workshop, cooking, drawing and quiz competitions, demonstration of millet recipes, among others.
- The key products on display during the fair were millets, organics and natural range, certified wild harvest produce, millet processing machinery, organic cereals and pulses, bio-degradable packaging, eco-friendly products, etc.
» During the trade fair, Dr Ashwatha Narayana C.N. Minister for Higher Education, IT & BT and Science & Technology, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka launched the SEEMI Brand Products and Millets Calendar 2023 developed by Sahaja Samrudha Organization.
About IYM – 2023:
- The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) accepted the Government of India’s proposal and declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM – 2023).
- International Year of Millets has been declared with the aim to generate mass awareness, increase production, productivity and strengthen the value-chain towards promote ‘golden grain’ Millets as the avenue to food & nutritional security.
- The year 2018 was declared as the National Year of Millets by the Government of India.
International
G20 India Health Track: 1st Health Working Group meeting
⇒ The 1st Health Working Group meeting under G20 India Presidency was held from 18th – 20th January, 2023 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
In a significant milestone, India assumed presidency of the G20 on 1st December, 2022. India is currently part of the G20 Troika comprising Indonesia, India and Brazil, marking the first time that the troika is consisting of three developing and emerging economies.
- The theme of the G20 under India Presidency is ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ enunciates India’s philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.
HWG Meetings:
The Health Track of the G20 India Presidency comprises four Health Working Group (HWG) Meetings and one Health Ministerial Meeting (HMM).
- The first and second Health Working Group meetings were held in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and Goa respectively.
- The 3-day 3rd G20 Health Working Group (HWG) meeting commenced in Hyderabad (Telangana) on June 4, 2023. Fourth meeting will be held in Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
As chair of the G20 Presidency, India aims to continue and consolidate health priorities and key takeaways from previous presidencies while highlighting critical areas that require strengthening.
- India also aims to achieve convergence in discussions across various multilateral fora engaged in health cooperation and work towards integrated action.
To this end, India identified, the following three priorities for the G20 Health Track:
- Priority I: Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness and Response (with focus on One Health & AMR)
- Priority II: Strengthening Cooperation in Pharmaceutical Sector with focus on Access and Availability to safe, effective, quality and Affordable Medical Countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics)
- Priority III: Digital Health Innovations and Solutions to Aid Universal Health Coverage and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery
1st HWG meeting side events:
1st HWG meeting included side events on Medical Value Travel and Digital Health; a workshop on collaborative research on drugs, diagnostics and vaccines; and a co-branded event on Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.
- One of the highlights of three days meeting was a side event on Medical Value Travel. Medical Value Travel (MVT) plays a crucial role in eliminating healthcare disparities across the globe. Medical Value Travel could be focused on maintaining, improving or restoring health through medical intervention.
» During the three-day G20 India first Health Working Group meeting delegates discussed health priorities like Health emergencies prevention and preparedness, strengthening cooperation in pharmaceutical sector and digital health innovation & solutions.
Representatives from the G20 member countries, Special invitee countries, International organizations were present at the closing session.
2nd Health Working Group (HWG) meeting
⇒ The 2nd Health Working Group (HWG) meeting under G20 India Presidency was held from April 17th – 19th, 2023 in Panaji, Goa.
- More than 180 delegates from 19 G20 member countries, 10 invited states, and 22 International Organizations participated in the meeting.
The 2nd HWG meeting had thematic discussions on the following three priorities identified under the G20 Health Track:
- Priority I: Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (with Focus on One Health & AMR)
- Priority II: Strengthening Cooperation in Pharmaceutical Sector with focus on Access and Availability to safe, effective, quality and Affordable Medical Countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics)
- Priority III: Digital Health Innovations and Solutions to Aid Universal Health Coverage and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery”
» The first day of the meeting saw multiple brainstorming sessions on various aspects revolving around the three priorities of India’s G20 Health track.
» Day 2 of the meeting started with the following agenda:
- Digital Health Innovations and Solutions to Aid Universal Health Coverage and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery.
- Zero Draft of G20 Health Ministers’ Declaration
- Citizen-Centric Health Delivery Ecosystems for Universal Health Coverage leveraging Digital Health and Innovations
- Creation of Digital Health Ecosystem: Moving towards harmonized and efficient Health-Data Governance Frameworks.
The first side event on Day 2 of the meeting focused on developing a citizen-centred health delivery system for universal health coverage, utilising digital health solutions & innovations.
» The third day of the 2nd Health Working Group meeting under India’s G20 Presidency witnessed engaging technical sessions on digital health innovations with a people-centric focus, technology-enabled continuum of care, and the issue of the digital divide among other issues and solutions.
Three Panel Discussions were held:
- 1st session focused on “Innovations in Healthcare – Health service delivery aided by Technology Interventions”
- 2nd session focused on “Technology aiding Continuing of care – Harnessing the potential of real-world data/evidence for better patient outcomes”
- 3rd session focused on “Digital Public Goods (DPGs) to Bridge the Digital Divide”
» The 3rd Health Working Group meeting as part of G20 India Presidency is being held in Hyderabad from 04 June 2023.
High-level meeting prior to the G20 2nd health working group meeting
⇒ The Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, FIND and Unitaid co-hosted a high-level meeting to strengthen cooperation and enable sustainable development and manufacturing of effective, quality and affordable diagnostic countermeasures prior to the G20 2nd health working group meeting.
- Stakeholders in attendance included representatives of the Government of India and G20 Member States (Australia, France, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Russia, Brazil and observers Mauritius, Netherlands, Oman), international organizations and over 20 diagnostics manufacturers from around the world.
- The meeting built on a successful 2-day technical workshop on 13–14 April in Goa, India.
Focus:
The workshop focused on the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of tests for low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), and the need to accelerate regional production of diagnostics in LMICs.
- It provided an opportunity for diagnostic manufacturers to deliberate on the enabling factors required for the sustainability of decentralized diagnostic R&D and manufacturing.
- Finally, in line with the India G20 Presidency goals, there was agreement that funding needs to be made available to create and maintain capacity for coordinated global manufacturing, R&D and technology transfer.
About:
» The Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India focuses on the development of pharmaceutical sector in India.
- It regulates various complex issues related to pricing and availability of medicines at affordable prices, research & development, protection of intellectual property rights and international commitments related to pharmaceutical sector which required integration of work with other Ministries.
» FIND seeks to ensure equitable access to reliable diagnosis around the world.
» Unitaid is a global health organization engaged in finding innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more quickly, affordably, and effectively, in low- and middle-income countries.
- Its work includes developing and funding initiatives to address major diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as advanced HIV disease, cervical cancer, hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas, such as fever management.
- Unitaid also recently deployed its expertise and capabilities to develop and deliver therapeutics (including oxygen) and diagnostics for the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a lead agency of the Access to COVID Tools Accelerator.
- Unitaid’s new Strategy, 2023-2027 includes developing and investing in interventions to respond to global health emergencies and to transform women’s and children’s health.
- Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization.