Day 2 - 26 February 2019
On the second day of the GDHP summit, ministers and government officials from over 35 countries committed to accelerate and implement the appropriate digital health interventions to improve health of their population by 2023.
The Delhi Declaration outlines that digital health is key to attaining sustainable development goals and improving the health and well-being of citizens. It encourages countries to update, implement and scale-up their digital health strategies and interventions, at national and sub-national levels. In promoting equitable, affordable and universal access to health for all, the Declaration calls for rapid and full use of digital health innovations to strengthen the health sector through public-private partnership. It also stresses on the need for norms and standards to address interoperability of data and systems, and cybersecurity.
With an emphasis on resource and knowledge sharing and to facilitate international collaboration, the Delhi Declaration calls for the WHO to establish a road map and assist Member countries in realizing their digital health strategies.
“The adoption of the Delhi Declaration shows the collective endorsement and consensus on the role of digital health in achieving universal health coverage and sustainable development. Cooperation and partnerships among multiple countries with different core competencies are vital for the adoption and usage of digital health services and can dramatically reduce costs to the government and burden of the diseases,” said Ms Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health, India at the meeting yesterday.