Dr. Azeema Fareed, Principal Medical Officer at COMSATS Secretariat, participated as an invited speaker in the “National Stakeholder Workshop on Developing a National Digital Health Strategy”, held from 26th – 27th September 2019, in Islamabad. The Workshop was first of the series being held by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHRC), Government of Pakistan, to promote the use of digital technologies in healthcare and to streamline efforts for devising National Digital Health Strategies.

During the Workshop, Dr. Fareed gave a detailed presentation on COMSATS Telehealth (CTH) Programme and shed light on the various aspects of digital health, including the scope and impact of the Programme. With a view to introducing best practices and indigenous experience in relevant policy making, she also shared COMSATS’ experience in the field of telemedicine and elucidated the impact and various challenges faced by CTH in meeting the goals and targets of the Programme in Pakistan.

The Workshop was successful in integrating national efforts to take the digital health agenda forward as well as devising a plan for a national digital health strategy guided by WHO/ITU tool-kit for developing national e-health strategy.

The event attracted a number of stakeholders from the Federal and Provincial Heath Ministries; development and donor agencies, including UNICEF, USAID and GIZ; public and private sector organizations as well as NGOs working in the field of digital health.