Gandhinagar: Welcoming the WHO Chief Dr Tedros, Prime Minister called him “Tulsibhai” earlier today. Responding to that, Tedros said, “I like the name because it’s a medicinal plant. By the way, I just planted the Tulsi here in the wellness center because it has many benefits for taking care of our forests and contributing to ensuring our world remains green. Given the climate change we are witnessing now, planting trees is very important… So, I’m happy to be called Tulsibhai, considering the prominence of the plant.”

Tulsibhai, I like the name because it’s a medicinal plant. By the way, I just planted Tulsibhai here in the wellness center….. So, I’m happy to be called Tulsibhai, given the prominence of the plant: WHO DG Dr. Tedros in Gujarat on PM Modi fondly calling him Tulsibhai pic.twitter.com/GPPLfgJWTR

— DeshGujarat (@DeshGujarat) August 16, 2023

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is currently in Gujarat to participate in the first global summit on Traditional Medicine, scheduled to be held in Gandhinagar on August 17th and 18th.

When asked about the Ayushman Bharat Yojana of the Central government, the WHO chief said, “You know, from the start when this was announced by the government some years ago, WHO supported it because countries should invest in primary healthcare. That’s what we have been telling countries, and India is actually doing that. For any health system, a primary healthcare system is key because most of the services can be provided at the primary healthcare level—more than 80%. Not only that, outbreaks can be prevented and detected at the primary healthcare level. So, investment in primary healthcare in Ayushman Bharat by the Government of India is the right investment.”

Investment in primary healthcare in Ayushman Bharat by the Government of India is the right investment. And that’s what we are asking all countries to really focus at: WHO Chief in Gujarat hailing Ayushman Bharat program today after visiting Primary Health Centre in the State pic.twitter.com/yyO0eLfrUY

— DeshGujarat (@DeshGujarat) August 16, 2023

“Many countries, including high-income countries, were surprised by the Covid pandemic. The problem was the lack of investment in primary healthcare… I have been talking about Ayushman Bharat, calling it an initiative, but I’m glad I visited one center today and saw how it functions, including the way of telemedicine. I am really happy that not only services are provided here, but patients can also get additional services remotely from home without traveling and spending money. I am glad to witness firsthand how Ayushman Bharat is doing,” he added.

Dr. Tedros also commended India’s fight against Covid and said, “COVID is behind us, and India did its best.”

“Now, regarding the new variant, not only EG.5 variant, what’s important is to continue to be vigilant because many countries are not testing enough. We wouldn’t know whether the virus is changing or not. So, what we can say is that a new variant may emerge and continuing to test will be very important. We are closely monitoring this variant, and we will do everything for this and any emerging variant. But countries should remain vigilant,” he added. DeshGujarat

Covid is behind us and India did its best: WHO chief in Gujarat today on India’s Covid vaccination success pic.twitter.com/zRN1GYOk5Z

— DeshGujarat (@DeshGujarat) August 16, 2023