The Australian Digital Health Agency joined digital health leaders from 18 countries and territories, together with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Hong Kong SAR recently, for the fifth Global Digital Health Partnership Summit (GDHP).
As reported, they gathered to collaborate and share their experiences as well as to improve the implementation of digital health services.
Focus on Digital Healthcare
GDHP Chair and Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Ms Preeti Sudan described the fifth summit of the Global Digital Health Partnership as a path-breaking event that highlighted advances and experiences around the world, particularly the importance of patient-centered health care.
According to Dr Ramesh Krishnamurthy, Senior Advisor, World Health Organization, digital health interventions are fundamentally changing the way healthcare is delivered.
These interventions are most useful when they help countries to advance their sustainable development goals (SDGs) and health coverage for their population.
The partnership provides an extraordinary opportunity for countries to share their best practices to advance their health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
The Australian Digital Health Agency CEO Tim Kelsey added that the GDHP provides an important opportunity for deep, transformational engagement on digital health between governments, government agencies and the World Health Organization.
The work the partnership has been doing in Interoperability, clinical and consumer engagement and cybersecurity has provided the Agency with the opportunity to improve Australia’s own work plan by providing evidence and use cases, which have informed the programs.
This includes the development of the National Interoperability Roadmap and the Digital Health Workforce and Education Roadmap.
Global Digital Health Partnership
- The Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) is a collaboration of governments and territories, government agencies and the World Health Organization.
- It was established in February 2018 to support the effective implementation of digital health services.
- The GDHP provides an opportunity for transformational engagement between its participants, who are striving to learn and share best practice and policy that can support their digital health systems.
- In addition, the GDHP provides an international platform for global collaboration and sharing of evidence to guide the delivery of better digital health services within participant countries.
- The Australian Digital Health Agency provided the secretariat services for the first eighteen months of the GDHP. Australia was the host country for the inaugural summit on 19 and 20 February 2018.
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, hosted the fourth GDHP Summit in New Delhi and is the current chair and secretariat.
- There are currently 31 countries, territories and the World Health Organization participating in the GDHP.
- Participants in the GDHP include senior digital health officials from: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Estonia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Nepal, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uganda, Uruguay, Zambia and the World Health Organization.
- It was announced in Hong Kong that the next summit would take place in Lisbon, Portugal in the week commencing 16 March 2020.
