Table of Contents
Context
- The Finance Ministry refused the Health Ministry’s request for a $10 million fund to fulfill a G20 pledge.
- India pledged unwavering support and seed funding for digital health as part of its G20 commitments.
Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH)
- Launched: In August 2023.
- Managed: It is a WHO managed network aiming to amplify and align resources toward country-led digital health transformation through strengthened collaboration and knowledge exchange.
- Purpose: The GIDH is a platform for sharing knowledge and digital products among countries, aimed at enhancing the digital transformation of health systems globally.
Aim of GIDH
- ALIGN efforts to support the Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2025;
- SUPPORT quality-assured technical assistance to develop and strengthen standards-based and interoperable systems aligned to global best practices, norms and standards;
- FACILITATE the deliberate use of quality-assured digital transformation tools that enable governments to manage their digital health transformation journey.
Components of GIDH
The initiative will work through a network of networks with four main components
- A country needs a tracker,
- A country resource portal,
- A map of resources available in a country, and
- A transformation toolbox with quality-assured digital tools and knowledge exchange.
- Contribution to India’s Digital Health: The launch of GIDH aligns with India’s ongoing efforts to digitise its health system, including managing the largest vaccination drive through its CoWIN platform, and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, which aims to create a seamless electronic health record system in the country.