GLOBAL
INITIATIVE ON DIGITAL HEALTH - SCI & TECH
News:
Global Initiative on
Digital Health to be launched under India's G-20 presidency
What's
in the news?
● India
and the World Health Organization (WHO) are set to launch the Global Initiative
on Digital Health during the ongoing G-20 summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Global
Initiative on Digital Health:
Aim:
● To
promote data convergence, enhance the interface of health platforms, and
encourage investments in the digital
health sector on a global scale.
Significance:
● The
summit also focuses on establishing an interim Medical Countermeasure (MCM) network to respond effectively to
health emergencies.
● The
initiative is designed to improve healthcare services worldwide through digital
solutions, aligning with the goal of
universal health coverage.
● The
summit additionally seeks to launch a Climate and Health Initiative in
collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, along with a patient and
healthcare workforce mobility portal.
Digital
health:
● Digital
health refers to the use of technology, such as mobile devices, software
applications, and other digital tools, to improve health and healthcare
delivery.
● Basically,
it is a multidisciplinary concept
that includes concepts from an intersection between technology and healthcare.
● It
encompasses a wide range of technologies and services, including telemedicine,
electronic health records, wearable devices, health information exchange, and
more.
● India’s CoWIN, UNICEF’s RapidPro and
Family Connect etc. are few notable examples of digital health
initiatives.