World

G20 Health Ministers Will Hold Video Call on 19 April to Discuss COVID-19 - Statement

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The health ministers of the world's largest 20 economies will hold a video conference on April 19 to discuss the impact of COVID-19 and exchange national practices undertaken to curb the pandemic, G20 said in a press release.
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"G20 Health Ministers will convene virtually on 19 April to address the impact of COVID-19 on the global health sector, and society", the group said.

According to the press release, the meeting will build on the G20 Extraordinary Virtual Leaders' Summit in March where health ministers were mandated with sharing national best practices and developing a set of urgent actions for the G20 to jointly combat the pandemic.

The agenda will also include "maintaining patient safety, ensuring inclusiveness in the global response to health emergencies," and the meeting itself will be for ministers to discuss "delivering resilient healthcare and encouraging digital solutions for global coordination and prioritizing COVID-19 pandemic preparedness," the G20 said.

The meeting will be chaired by Saudi Health Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, according to the press release.

"G20 members will be joined by guest countries, and international and regional organizations including the World Health Organisation, the World Bank Group, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Islamic Development Bank, The Global Fund, the United Nations Children's Fund, the International Telecommunication Union, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance and Unitaid", the press release read.

During the virtual meeting held last month, the G20 leaders tasked their countries' health ministers with developing a list of urgent actions to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic and coordinate further with the WHO.

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