American economist, climate expert and development policy adviser Jeffrey Sachs was at the Express for an Idea Exchange. In this session moderated by Assistant Editor Amulya Gopalakrishnan, Sachs answers questions on India’s stand on climate change and makes a case for aid to poor countries

Amulya Gopalakrishnan: Can you tell us why you are in New Delhi, and what are you primary concerns these days?

I have been coming to India two or three times every year for about 20 years and especially after the 1991 reforms began. In the recent years, I have been coming as Chair of an international advisory board for the minister of health on the National Rural Health Mission????

That itself emerged from a very wonderful experience that I had by chairing a commission for WHO in 2000-2001 where Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was a leading member of the commission. We worked closely together on the challenges of scaling up primarily healthcare in previously neglected areas such as rural India. The National Rural Health Mission??? in my point of view, is living out some of the recommendations of that commission in improving access to basic preventative and curative health services amongst deprived communities. Every year, I also come in February to the Delhi summit on Sustainable Development organized by Dr. ????Pachauri. I really like the idea of Delhi being the world centre for the annual meeting on these issues because I believe that India has a great stake in sustainable development. Dr. Pauchari had played a unique role in this and his receipt of the Nobel Prize on behalf of the IPCC was a great event for India.

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