WION Health Pulse: 'India has a lot of advantages in healthcare': Dr. Carlota Alonso

The world's healthcare confluence, charting the future of health innovation, witnessed insightful discussions during the opening session, India – The World's Pharmacy, at the WION Health Summit underway at Taj, New Delhi.

The session was moderated by Molly Gambhir and featured distinguished speakers: Dr Carlota Alonso, Founder & CEO, European Institute for Healthcare Excellence (EIHE), Dr Shubnum Singh, Principal Advisor & Health Policy, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Advisor & GC Member, Health Sector Skills Council (HSSC), Dr K Srinath Reddy, Founder & Former President, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Chancellor, PHFI Institute of Public Health Sciences.

Speaking at the summit, Dr Carlota Alonso spoke on India's growing global healthcare leadership as they discussed India’s role in ensuring equitable public healthcare access, and a conversation on India’s pharmaceutical sector

‘’India has a lot of advantages because of its expertise, its leadership and also its potential to scale, and I do think that we have to look back at the pandemic. I know everyone talks about the pandemic. But I think the world became aware that we have a dependency on the manufacturing centres,‘’ Alonso said.

"India sits at a very advantageous platform because of the digital strength, the manufacturing strength and the medical capacities," says Dr Alonso.

‘’I feel very proud and honored to be living in India and to be part of this ecosystem. People in Western countries often think that Europeans or Westerners come to India to solve India’s problems. But Noo. I always say I come to India to learn and to see what can be taken from India to Western countries,'' she said.

She further emphasised India's unique strengths in driving the future of healthcare innovation, saying:

The discussion focused on India's role as a global healthcare and pharmaceutical powerhouse, exploring how the country's digital capabilities, manufacturing ecosystem, and medical expertise are shaping the future of global health.