Ministers said India has a comprehensive system for registering deaths!
Health ministers of different states attending the 14th conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) have slammed WHO for its estimate of 4.7 million Covid-related deaths in India, saying it is "baseless" and "intended to show the country in a poor light".
Ministers said India has a robust, efficient and comprehensive system for registering deaths and all Covid fatalities are systematically recorded transparently following a legal process.
On Friday, a resolution was passed at the conference strongly objecting to WHO's estimates of Covid deaths in India.
It stated the WHO estimate is "unacceptable" to India and the modelling methodology used by the global health body to reach the figure was "flawed".
The three-day conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare, a top advisory body of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, began in Gujarat's Kevadia on Thursday. It was chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar questioned the modelling methodology used by WHO to arrive at the death estimate, alleging that it was an attempt to "tarnish" India's reputation.
"There is no rationale behind the modelling methodology used by WHO to arrive at the estimate. All health ministers at the conference here have condemned the report and passed a resolution against it. We have urged Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to convey India's disappointment to WHO and raise it at higher international forums," he told news agency Press Trust of India.
"We stand by our numbers because there is a robust, legal and transparent system for data collection and Covid mortality surveillance. It's a sheer attempt to malign India which has done good work on Covid management. There seems to be a malafide intention behind the report," Mr Sudhakar said.
Punjab Health Minister Vijay Singla alleged that WHO's death estimate was "fabricated" and it has not made a proper calculation to arrive at the figure of 47.4 lakh Covid-related deaths.
"India has a strong data collection system and there is no reason to doubt its authenticity. The modelling methodology used by the global health body was not scientific," he said.
Madhya Pradesh Minister of Medical Education Vishwas Sarang alleged there was a conspiracy to belittle India's achievements on the COVID-19 front starting from the low mortality rate to the high vaccination coverage.
On Thursday, The Union Health Ministry strongly objected to the mathematical models used by WHO for projecting excess mortality estimates linked to the pandemic given the availability of authentic data, saying the validity and robustness of the models used and methodology of data collection were questionable.
India is likely to raise the issue at the World Health Assembly and other multilateral forums, sources in the ministry said.
"Despite India's objection to the process, methodology and outcome of this modelling exercise, WHO has released the excess mortality estimates without adequately addressing India's concerns," the Union Health Ministry said.
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