Partnership

CII and US India Business Council Announce Healthcare Partnership

The Coalition for Healthy India co-ordinates and supports improved access to healthcare in India

Dr Prathap Reddy

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the US-India Business Council (USIBC) recently announced a major new advance in healthcare collaboration, partnering under the banner of the USIBC-led 'Coalition for Healthy India'. The partnership was announced on the sidelines of CII's 6th Annual Healthcare Summit.

The Coalition for Healthy India, managed by the US India Business Council, is dedicated to ensuring that Indian patients have access to the latest and most effective treatments and cures. It was created in 2007 to bring together like-minded members of the US and Indian business communities, non-governmental organisations, patient advocacy organisations and health professionals to co-ordinate and support improved access to healthcare in India.

According to Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, "The CII and the USIBC have long collaborated to support healthcare improvements in India. Today, we're proud to announce an exclusive partnership between USIBC and CII in the form of a joint CII-USIBC Healthcare Task Force."

Sharing the dais was Dr Petra Laux, Head of Global Public Affairs, Novartis. "At Novartis, we're driven every day by a commitment to research and development that brings innovative new products to the communities we serve. This aligns seamlessly with the number one goal of the Coalition for Healthy India - ensuring that Indian patients have access to the latest and best treatments and cures. The partnership announced with CII today will lift the Coalition for Healthy India to new heights."

Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman CII National Committee on Healthcare & Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group, noted that the healthcare systems of the US and India have much to learn from one another. "The partnership we're announcing under the Coalition for Healthy India brings together the foremost healthcare innovators from two of the world's most dynamic societies. This will not only have a positive impact on patients in India, it will benefit patients around the globe," he added.

The Coalition for Healthy India focuses on five key pillars: raising the standard of care; developing new treatments and cures; ensuring access and affordability; getting medicine to patients; and corporate social responsibility. All of these efforts are channelled with a particular emphasis on improving the situation in rural areas where more than 60 per cent of Indians live and work.

The Coalition for Healthy India Healthcare Task Force will serve as an advisory council which guides and coordinates USIBC and CII efforts towards improving healthcare in India. The Task Force will be chaired on the Indian side by Dr Prathap C Reddy and on the US side by Dr Vas Narasimhan, Head, Vaccines North America, President, Vaccines USA, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, and board member of the USIBC.

Dr John D Ayres, Director, Product Health Risk Assessments, Eli Lilly and Company, stated, "The Coalition for Healthy India is poised to have a major impact on issues that are important to patients. This collaboration between USIBC and CII means that healthcare innovators in the US and India will now have a permanent forum to share and generate new ideas and ultimately help implement solutions to the healthcare challenges facing all of us."

EH News Bureau