'WHO must be reformed': PM Modi at Second Global Covid Summit | Top quotes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the second Global Covid Summit via video conferencing on Thursday and called for reforms in the World Health Organisation (WHO). He also underlined the need for a coordinated response to combat future health emergencies. He also took the opportunity to praise India's vaccination programme, saying it is the world's largest immunisation drive. The PM also underlined that the country adopted a people-centric approach in its fight against the pandemic.

US President Joe Biden, the host of the summit, announced that the US will share the critical Covid technologies through the WHO Covid-19 technologies access pool. "We are making available the health technology that is owned by the US government including stabilised spike protein, which was used in many Covid-19 vaccines," Biden said while chairing the summit.

This year's theme of the global summit was 'Preventing Pandemic Fatigue and Prioritizing Preparedness. Modi had also participated in the first Global Covid virtual Summit, also hosted by the US, in 2021.

Here are top quotes of PM Modi at the Second Global Covid Summit:

On WHO

> We call for streamlining the WHO approval process for vaccines and therapeutics to keep supply chains stable, and predictable.

> WHO must be reformed and strengthened to build a more resilient global health security architecture.

On WTO

> WTO rules, particularly TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) need to be more flexible.

On India's vaccination drive

> We made the highest ever allocation for our annual healthcare budget. Our vaccination program is the largest in the world. We have fully vaccinated almost 90 per cent of the elderly population and more than 50 million children.

Call for a coordinated response

> Coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt lives, supply chains and test the resilience of open societies.

> Coordinated global response required to combat future health emergencies.

> We must build a resilient global supply chain and enable equitable access to vaccines and medicines.