India and WHO Collaborate to Launch Global Initiative on Digital Health

• 18 Aug 2023

India, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), is set to introduce the Global Initiative on Digital Health during the ongoing G-20 summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on August 19, 2023.

Key Points

• Innovative Global Initiative: This unprecedented global initiative focuses on fostering data convergence, streamlining health platform interfaces, and promoting investments in the digital health realm on a global scale.
• Its core objective is to facilitate data integration, harmonize health platforms' interfaces, and encourage investments in the burgeoning digital health sector worldwide.
• Critical Interim Medical Countermeasure: The G-20 summit is also dedicated to implementing an interim Medical Countermeasure (MCM) strategy.
• This approach adopts a "network of networks" framework to effectively respond to health emergencies before they escalate.
• Digital Health Platform Features: The global digital platform will encompass various key features, including an investment tracker.
• It will also incorporate an "ask tracker" to identify specific needs for products and services, along with a repository of existing digital health platforms.
• Expanding Agendas: Alongside digital health, the summit aims to establish a Climate and Health Initiative (CHI) in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank.
• Focus on Traditional Medicine: WHO, in collaboration with India's Ministry of Ayush, will convene the Traditional Medicine Global Summit during the G-20 event on August 17 and 18.
• This summit explores the pivotal role of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine in addressing pressing health challenges and driving global health progress.