Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested creating a special visa scheme for doctors and nurses so that they can travel quickly within the region during health emergencies, on the request of the receiving country.
He also asked whether Civil Aviation ministries can coordinate a regional Air Ambulance agreement for medical contingencies asking the countries to raise the ambition further.
Modi made the remarks while addressing a workshop on ''Covid-19 Management: Experience, Good Practices and Way Forward'' with 10 Neighbouring Countries" held in New Delhi recently.
He also suggested that they can create a regional platform for collating, compiling and studying data about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among our populations, according to Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
"Can we similarly create a regional network for promoting technology-assisted epidemiology, for preventing future pandemics?" Modi asked.
Beyond COVID-19, the Prime Minister suggested sharing of successful public health policies and schemes.
He suggested that from India, Ayushman Bharat and Jan Arogya schemes may be useful case-studies for the region.
"If the 21st Century is to be the Asian Century, it cannot be without greater integration among the countries of South Asia and the Indian Ocean island countries."
The spirit of regional solidarity that the countries have shown during the pandemic has proven that such integration is possible, said the Prime Minister.
He addressed a workshop on "Covid-19 Management: Experience, Good Practices and Way Forward” with health leaders, experts and officials of
The 10 neighbouring countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka.
Modi lauded the way the health systems of the countries cooperated during the pandemic and for meeting the challenge in the most densely populated region with a coordinated response.
He recalled creation of COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to meet the immediate costs of fighting the pandemic and sharing of resources - medicines, PPE, and testing equipment.
Modi also notedsharing of experiences and learning from each other’s best practices in testing, infection control and medical waste management.
He said this spirit of collaboration is a valuable takeaway from this pandemic.
"Through our openness and determination, we have managed to achieve one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. This deserves to be applauded.Today, the hopes of our region and the world are focused on rapid deployment of vaccines. In this too, we must maintain the same cooperative and collaborative spirit,” said the Indian Prime Minster, reports UNB.