India, UK to enhance bilateral cooperation in healthcare, life sciences

India and the UK have agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of healthcare and life sciences as strategic partners with strong links in the area, with a specific aim of strengthening collaboration in the health technology and innovation sectors.

The Health and Life Sciences Partnership' signed by UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting in London on Thursday will cover a broad range of areas, including digitisation and innovation across the country's state-funded National Health Service (NHS).

This will strengthen the UK's partnership of cooperation with India on healthcare innovation and health security, said the UK's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

 

The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda at the Delhi end, will also cover joint research, information sharing and cooperation through multilateral fora in areas such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The Health and Life Sciences agreement recognises that both countries have strengths in the sector and that this is a critical part of the offerings that any modern nation offers to its citizens quality healthcare, said Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

The focus is on things like antimicrobial resistance, which really is a critical issue for both countries... India is among the world's big producers of generic antibiotics and access to affordable antibiotics is critical, he said.

The High Commissioner also highlighted areas such as health services, given India's expertise in the field of training doctors and other healthcare professionals, and the wide scope to partner with the UK in its NHS reform agenda, including in the digital space around healthcare.

According to the MoU, the exchange of information and cooperation between both countries' designated healthcare bodies will focus on matters of mutual interest.

Besides AMR and medical training, the early focus of the agreement will cover digital health interventions, including telemedicine, public health and disease surveillance; cyber security, including information on the challenges and capabilities to boost resilience; mutually enhancing medical supply resilience to effectively prevent, mitigate and respond to future supply disruptions collaboratively; and health security, including cooperation and research on infectious disease.

Other areas within the remit of the MoU include medical value travel, primary healthcare as a keystone and regulatory issues, including regulation and quality assurance of medicines and medical devices and sharing of quality standards.