“The main reason is that I feel an urge, after five years at the global level, to come back to more hands-on practical work in research and policy. I would like to turn all the ideas and concepts we have been promoting in the WHO into reality. I have met so many incredible people and been exposed to many good ideas and feel that I could be contributing to so many things in India. These are exciting times with so much interest and investment in health and I would like to be part of that transformation. There is a window of opportunity in India and in countries like India, which are taking health seriously, to really build strong and resilient primary health systems and empower communities. I have always wanted to live and work in India, and whenever I had an opportunity abroad, it has always been for a limited amount of time,” Swaminathan stated.

A paediatrician who’s globally recognised for her analysis on tuberculosis and HIV, Swaminathan has additionally served as director normal of the Indian Council of Medical Research for 2 years earlier than taking over the submit of deputy director normal (programmes) on the WHO in 2017. After the company arrange a science division, she grew to become the WHO’s first chief scientist beginning March 2019.

With the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus, the WHO’s science division performed an essential function, with one in all its vital contributions being bringing out pointers for the medical administration of Covid-19 sufferers.

“This was real innovation, and every time a clinical trial reported results, we would update the guidelines so that people would know which drugs were effective,” Swaminathan stated.

According to her, the must be ready for an emergency was one of many fundamental classes learnt from the pandemic.

“All divisions, departments and teams should be in place and there should be no confusion as to who is doing what. Of course, we all learnt on the job as the science division was new,” stated Swaminathan, who was among the many few senior workers of the WHO to handle world media conferences on rising proof round Covid-19.

She additionally stated that WHO suggestions might must be tailored based on “local realities and contexts” to ensure that them to be helpful in numerous components of the world.

On her return to India, she stated she plans to construct on the imaginative and prescient of her father, Dr M S Swaminathan — the eminent scientist often called the daddy of India’s Green Revolution. “He had a holistic vision of interlinking agriculture, nutrition and health, and I want to build on his vision,” she stated.

She shall be on the board of trustees of the M S Swaminathan Foundation, which has a mandate to work on rural livelihoods, sustainable agriculture and the usage of science to have an effect on society.

“We have done well in building up infrastructure, but investment is going into tertiary care hospitals. What has been relatively neglected is (investment) for those seeking treatment at outpatient clinics in the private or public sector. They come usually when they are sick and hence we are missing opportunities to screen people (and help them understand) how to live healthy. If you look at what are the factors that enable someone to live a long and healthy life, 20 per cent of it is related to the healthcare that they receive while 80 per cent is related to to risk factors of health, which are poor diet, unbalanced meals, air pollution, water, sanitation, and tobacco and alcohol as well as the risk factors of hypertension and diabetes,” she stated.

It stays unclear who will exchange Swaminathan as WHO’s chief scientist.