G20 health working group meet: India underlines need for digital health to achieve universal well-being

While there was a consensus on the need of digital technologies for delivering universal health, the delegates did not agree on ways to finance the implementation.

Written by Anonna Dutt

Hyderabad | Updated: June 6, 2023 02:32 AM IST

2 min read

The G20 will focus on finalising the ministerial declaration ahead of the fourth working group and ministerial meeting scheduled for August.

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On the second day of the third health working group meeting of G20 in Hyderabad on Monday, discussions centred on digital health, one of the three priorities proposed by India, and the draft outcome document.

While there was a consensus on the need of digital technologies for delivering universal health, the delegates did not agree on ways to finance the implementation.

The G20 will focus on finalising the ministerial declaration ahead of the fourth working group and ministerial meeting scheduled for August.

Fifteen countries had sent in written comments on the zero draft of the ministerial document that had been circulated prior to the working group meetings.

Speaking on the digital health push by India, Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, said, “Clearly, there is an agreement in the house that digital technologies are our future, they are a critical part of the health system response in more than one way — access to healthcare, public health planning, drug development, research, pandemic prediction, telemedicine, etc. The discussion is on how we bring it together…how it will help the larger cause… and how to govern and finance it.”

India has proposed setting up a repository of the digital platforms at the WHO, with the aim of matching the existing technologies with the needs of the countries. India had also proposed a USD 200 million fund to help countries implement such digital platforms. However, the fund has been a point of contention.

“At the moment there is no consensus on creating the USD 200 million fund… Some are saying that the fund should be created, Europe says they do not have the funds for it seeing the condition of their economy,” said an official in the know of the matter, adding that it was now India’s job to build a consensus.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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