Over 56 million Indians benefitted with COVID-related health training, risk mitigation, vaccine information: US

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has reached more than 56 million Indians with COVID-related health training, risk mitigation and vaccine information, and essential equipment since the beginning of the pandemic, White House statement said on Friday (local time).

The White House noted that over the 50 years, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has successfully collaborated with the Indian government to address India's public health priorities.

"CDC has allocated approximately 16 million dollars towards COVID-19 response in India since March 2020, to support country-level coordination, epidemiology and surveillance, case management, infection prevention and control, laboratory and other technical areas, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund, and other partners, The United States and India are working on COVID-19 response and pandemic preparedness, infrastructure, space, clean energy, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, cyber security, maritime security, resilient supply chains, approaches to 5G infrastructure deployment that leverage open and interoperable network architectures, and critical and emerging technologies," it stated.

The White House said both India and the US are committed to continued partnership on cybersecurity, to include efforts to promote critical infrastructure resilience, collaboration to counter cyber-enabled crime such as ransomware, and cooperation to address shared cyber threats, including through workforce development, and exploring common cyber standards and promoting secure software development.

"Over the past year, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded nearly 200 research awards with collaborations involving Indian partners. In the past four years, the number of health research collaborations with India grew from 200 to nearly 330, and the number of Indian research organizations participating in NIH-funded research grew from nearly 100 to over 200," it stated.

The statement also informed that on October 28 and October 29, the United States and India will co-host the fourth annual Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF), which will bring together leaders in government, industry, media, and non-profits from across the Indo-Pacific.

"This marquee commercial diplomacy event underscores our joint commitment to a positive economic agenda for the Indo-Pacific region, advances policy developments, announces new investments, and builds relationships between the private sector and governments in the Indo-Pacific," the White House said further.

(ANI)