NEW DELHI: There is a need to address social inequities that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted, including in the healthcare sector, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) chief Randeep Guleria has said.
He made the remarks during an online peace symposium hosted on Wednesday by Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG).
The long shadows of COVID-19 that has engulfed the world shows that global cooperation and solidarity are no longer a matter of choice but of survival, panelists concurred.
This webinar also marked the launch of BSG's new symposium series 'Dialogue in Action: Empowering Humanity', the BSG said in a statement on Thursday.
"The concept, 'leave no one behind' is most relevant in these pandemic times. We need to address social inequities that the pandemic highlighted -- in the healthcare sections, with the migrants and in the education sector where many were left behind. The important message is to emphasise that each life matters," Guleria was quoted as saying in the statement.
Every year since 1983, Soka Gakkai International (SGI) President Daisaku Ikeda has authored a peace proposal offering possible solutions to global issues.
He has done this as a steadfast supporter of the ideals and potential of the United Nations.
BSG, has organised peace symposia every year, based on these proposals, with the aim of making Ikeda's vision a reality, it said.
"Our shared efforts to respond to the pandemic can serve as a foundation for generating global awareness of the essential role of human solidarity in transforming the crisis," said Ikeda.
Panelists at the webinar concurred that the current crisis can only be resolved through a new era of cooperation.