The group’s objective was to draw lessons and experiences, both national and global, on how COVID-19 was managed. | Photo: https://www.niti.gov.in/
A panel of experts constituted by NITI Aayog to prepare a framework for preparedness against future pandemics has suggested enacting a separate legislation to handle public health crises.
The report, titled “Future Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response: A Framework for Action,” notes that, learning from the experience of Covid-19, experts have realized that responding in the first 100 days of an outbreak is crucial for effective management.
“A separate Public Health Emergency Management Act (PHEMA) is proposed to facilitate the management of any public health crisis.
“PHEMA can address a range of issues beyond epidemics, including non-communicable diseases, disasters and bioterrorism, and should be implemented in a developed country,” he said.
It will enable a holistic approach to health management, encompassing prevention, control and response to disasters, the report added.
“The law would also provide for the creation of qualified public health cadres at national and state levels,” he added.
The report also noted that it is critical to be prepared with strategies and countermeasures that can be put in place within the first 100 days.
The report proposed that an Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response be established and a well-oiled machine be put in place to prepare and ready itself ahead of any emergency.
“A well-structured scoring mechanism should regularly monitor progress against key objectives,” the report said.
According to the report, priority objectives would be capacity building in both human resources and infrastructure, the development of innovative countermeasures, adequate high-risk financing to achieve high returns in terms of saving lives and minimizing economic losses, a well-developed and robust regulatory framework, and a strong surveillance network that connects epidemiological data with genomic, laboratory and clinical data.
The report also suggested that there is a need to connect epidemiological surveillance data with genomic data and develop clinical correlations using hospital and laboratory data.
“A robust surveillance network is proposed that allows community and hospital data to flow seamlessly to a unified data portal for access and data sharing across all relevant sectors,” the report said, adding that this will require a well-articulated data sharing and communication policy and the allocation of authority to key decision-makers.
In order to take effective and timely measures, he said it is necessary to establish a Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response Fund.
The report notes that during the Covid pandemic, needs-based financial packages were made available for some of the emergency response activities, such as genomic surveillance, vaccine and diagnostic development, research resources and shared infrastructure.
However, he noted that adequate financial resources are also needed for pandemic preparedness.
Highlighting that the Indian regulatory system needs special attention, the report says there is a need for global harmonization of regulatory standards to enable acceptance of regulatory data among recognized regulatory authorities of the world and a common framework for innovative technologies and accelerated response for emergency approval.
“The need for a clinical trials network to conduct global trials in multiple locations has been suggested,” he said, adding that this would facilitate quick access to globally developed countermeasures.
The report noted that the regulatory authority (Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation) needs special powers through legislation and requires strengthening of technical competence and autonomy in operation to meet these requirements.
The group’s terms of reference were to draw lessons and experiences, both national and global, on how Covid was managed and to envision preparedness elements and future pathways to combat any infectious public health crisis.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: September 11, 2024 | 21:04 IS
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