Jai Ganesh Udayasankaran presents the convergence workshop approach to support national digital health programs in the region

Bangkok, Thailand – The Asia eHealth Information Network was represented by Executive Director Jai Ganesh Udayasankaran, who spoke at the World Bank-organized side meeting “Digital-in-Health: Unlocking value for Everyone and foster inclusivity, equality, and fairness in global health governance” at the Prince Mahidol Awards Conference (PMAC) 2024 on January 22, 2024.

The session featured an overview presentation on the World Bank’s Digital-in-Health Flagship Report “Digital-in-Health: Unlocking the Value for Everyone” and the “Implementation Know-how Briefs to Support Countries to Prioritize, Connect and Scale for a Digital-in-Health Future” 

Udayasankaran provided an overview of AeHIN’s vision, mission, objectives, and various capacity-building activities, including webinars, training, the associated communities of practice, and General Meetings. He explained the why, what, and how of the convergence workshop approach recommended by AeHIN to facilitate multisectoral coordination, consensus, cooperation, and collaboration in support of national digital health programs in countries. He shared the key outputs from the recent convergence workshops in Lao PDR, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia and how these countries used the methodology and approach to convergence on their priority needs and local context. As part of AeHIN’s collaboration with various partners, he mentioned the Global Digital Health Monitor (GDHM) survey in the region and highlights from the 2023 State of Digital Health Report.

“The multidisciplinary nature of digital-in-health necessitates taking the partnership approach by leveraging and building upon the core competencies of various stakeholders towards aligning resources and meaningful implementation of the national digital health strategies/blueprints in countries,” says Udayasankaran.

Other AeHIN members in the audience were Dr. Boonchai Kijsanayotin, Prof. Alain Labrique, Dr. Alvin Marcelo, and Derek Ritz.

“Now that countries have established governance structures, they seek ways to craft long-term blueprints with corresponding investment plans. The resulting costed architecture is very important to ensure countries have enough resources to fuel their digital health transformation in the next decade,” adds Dr. Marcelo.