State Dept. on U.S.-India Cooperation on Public Health
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
June 13, 2012
FACT SHEET
U.S.-India Bilateral Cooperation on Public Health and Research
The United States and India continue to expand public health and biomedical
research and programming, building upon more than fifty years of bilateral
cooperation in the health sector. A number of recent developments highlight the
positive momentum in health-related collaboration:
.. U.S.-India Health Initiative: Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary
Sebelius travelled to India in January 2012 to meet with Minister of Health and
Family Welfare Azad to strengthen collaboration on health systems, biomedical
research, and food and drug safety. The Secretary's visit supported the growing
U.S.-India Health Initiative that was launched in 2010 to provide an organizing
structure for bilateral discussions between the United States and India on
health collaboration and program implementation. The Health Initiative consists
of four high-level working groups: Maternal and Child Health; Infectious
Diseases; Non-communicable Diseases; and Strengthening Health Systems and
Services.
.. Polio Eradication: During her recent visit, HHS Secretary Sebelius
recognized India's tremendous achievement in its elimination of polio. India in
January marked one year since its last-recorded polio case. Since 1999, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided direct technical support
and more than $114 million to India for polio eradication and other activities,
with USAID providing an additional $77.5 million since 1996.
.. Global Disease Detection (GDD) Program: The United States and India are
working to strengthen detection and response to emerging disease threats through
the Global Disease Detection India Center (GDDIC), which was launched within the
National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi in 2010. The GDDIC's activities
include establishing an India Epidemic Intelligence Service program, supporting
emerging disease surveillance and outbreak response, pandemic influenza
preparedness and response, laboratory systems and biosafety, health
communications, and zoonotic disease investigation and control. President Barack
Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh first announced plans to establish the
GDDIC as a regional center in 2009. Other GDD regional centers are located in
Kenya, Thailand, Guatemala, Egypt, China, and South Africa. GDD also has
regional centers under development in Bangladesh, Georgia, and Kazakhstan.
.. Stanford-India Biodesign (SIB) Initiative: Established in 2007 between
Stanford University, the Indian Government's Department of Biotechnology, the
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and the Indian Institute of Technology
Delhi, this partnership seeks to build a cadre of biomedical technology
innovators, who will build India's emerging medical technology sector in
academia and industry while training subsequent fellows and students. The SIB
initiative includes a two-year fellowship program and the creation of related
training centers in India to promote academic excellence.
.. Medical Research: The United States and India are working to promote
bilateral innovation and discovery in biomedical and behavioral research. The
United States and India support productive bilateral research collaborations in
areas considered a priority for both sides, including maternal and child health,
neuroscience, HIV/AIDS, and eye disease. The collaboration in vaccine research
known as the "Vaccine Action Program" will celebrate its 25th anniversary in
2012. New areas of collaborative research are being considered between the U.S.
National Institutes of Health and the Government of India in the area of stem
cell and regenerative medicine research.
.. Diabetes Research: On June 12 Secretary Sebelius and Minister Azad
signed a Joint Statement between the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India on collaboration
on diabetes research. Recognizing the important benefits in reduction and
prevention of diabetes, the Joint Statement initiates a research relationship
between the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Indian Council of Medical
Research to better understand the mechanisms underlying diabetes, and to
identify innovative approaches for the prevention and treatment of the
disease.
.. Disease Management: The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
program collaborates with the National AIDS Control Organization on preventing
new infections, and increasing access to care, support, and treatment services
for persons living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to strategic information, lab
strengthening and health systems strengthening, this year, the United States and
India are poised to announce an HIV/AIDS Partnership: Impact through Prevention,
Private Sector and Evidence-Based Programming, a project that builds upon
existing HIV/AIDS prevention collaboration in the private sector while also
engaging the private sector to support innovations that enable national and
state-level institutions to respond more effectively to HIV/AIDS throughout the
prevention-to-care continuum.
.. Child Survival Call to Action: The United States and India are proud to
co-convene the Call to Action June 14-15 in Washington, D.C., which will serve
to launch the global movement A Promise to Keep. Through better accountability
and targeted investments in effective, life-saving interventions for children
over the next two decades, A Promise to Keep will reenergize the global movement
to end preventable child deaths. Minister of Health and Family Welfare Azad will
join Secretary Clinton and other global leaders at the Call to Action and
demonstrate India's commitment to leadership on this global priority, extending
toward ambitious targets in 2035.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State.)
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