The Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN) reconvened the Digital Health Blueprint Toolkit Community of Practice (DHBT CoP) in the Asia Pacific on 20 August 2026 via Zoom. A total of 25 participants from 15 countries attended the meeting focused on operationalizing technical working groups (TWGs).
Below are the key discussion points during the meeting:
Overview of TWGs
Within the context of drafting, reviewing, endorsing, and implementing blueprints, Jai Ganesh Udayasankaran, Executive Director of AeHIN, emphasized that Technical Working Groups (TWGs) serve as a bridge between policy and implementation. It is a governance mechanism that translates broad political commitments into specific buildable technical decisions.
Typical Functions:
- Translation: Policy orientations become standards and specifications vendors can build to.
- Coordination: Inventory of what exists, aligning partner investment, preventing fragmentation (e.g., stop three agencies building a similar registry).
- Convening: The neutral advisory body for health, ICT, regulators, counties, academia and industry.
- Gatekeeping: Certification, conformance testing and compliance against agreed and recommended national standards.
- Institutional Memory: Secretariats carry knowledge across reshuffles in leadership and donor funding cycles.
Drawing on examples from Australia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda, Mr. Udayasankaran pointed out that there is no single model for establishing technical working groups (TWGs). Their structures, including membership composition, meeting frequency, convening mechanisms, quorum, mandate, and reporting lines, may vary according to each country’s context, such as its governance systems, institutional arrangements, and digital health priorities.
Updates from Members: Maldives Digital Health Blueprint Launched
Launch of the Maldives Digital Health Blueprint 2026-2030 (Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Maldives)
Receiving inputs from the Digital Health Blueprint Toolkit Bootcamp organized by the World Bank and AeHIN, Ms. Aishath Samiya, Permanent Secretary of the Maldives Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, announced the launch of their blueprint on 25 June 2026, marking an important milestone in the country’s digital health journey.
Ms. Moomina Abdullah, Deputy Director General at the Ministry, said next steps will focus on operationalizing the blueprint: “We want to learn from countries and also how they are implementing the national digital health strategies, both from their success and from the challenges they are experiencing.”
The published blueprint is accessible at: https://health.gov.mv/storage/uploads/EoAMpMo9/azbazhu5.pdf
CoP Survey Results: Operationalizing TWGs
The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of CoP survey results on operationalizing TWGs, receiving 27 responses from 18 countries. Ms. Fathimath Shamah, CoP Meeting Facilitator, administered the survey.
Status of TWG Establishment
Nearly half of the countries that responded to the survey indicated having a functioning TWG in place. Three countries reported that efforts to establish a TWG are still ongoing, while one has included it in its national plan. On the other hand, four have mixed responses, highlighting the need for further clarity if TWG establishment refers to national or subnational mechanisms.
Perceived Roles and Functions of a TWG
Based on the survey, CoP members see TWG’s roles and functions beyond a strategic advisory body that guides national digital health policies and plans.
These roles and functions are perceived around six key areas:
- Governance and strategic steering
- Technical architecture, standards, and interoperability
- Stakeholder coordination and consensus-building
- Program management and delivery
- Quality assurance and responsible innovation
- Implementation, monitoring, and capacity-building
Challenges in TWG Establishment
Countries that are currently working on the establishment of TWGs cited various challenges. These include communicating the value of TWGs, securing the right expertise, getting funding for convening, coordinating with members, sustaining member engagement, aligning on priorities, and delays in decision-making and implementation. The need for stronger governance, senior leadership support, as well as greater awareness and decision-making on operationalizing digital transformation through TWGs, was also highlighted.
For countries that have yet to establish TWGs, challenges anticipated were relatively the same. Key issues foreseen include limited awareness among accountable officials of their governance roles and authority to delegate, particularly in contexts where leaders do not regularly meet to discuss digital health matters; challenges in coordinating stakeholders; and difficulties in ensuring appropriate representation among diverse stakeholders with varying technical, functional, and institutional interests.
Ideal TWG Composition
Among countries that do not yet have a TWG in place, most responses suggest that, at a minimum, an ideal group should comprise relevant Ministry of Health divisions, departments, and agencies. Others have cited that the TWG should also be composed of other Ministries or government institutions, such as government ICT agencies, and development partners/international agencies. To provide diverse perspectives, including technical areas such as privacy and security, a few responses have noted the ideal involvement of representatives from health facilities, health tech and medical informatics organizations, academia and research institutions, subject-matter experts, the private sector, NGOs, and civil society organizations.
Examples of TWG Composition
Among countries that already have a TWG in place, 12 provided details on their component bodies, with most chaired or led by the Ministry of Health and with many including representatives from digital health or ICT-related agencies, while some also involved health informaticians.
Availability of TORs for TWGs
The survey also looked into the availability of Terms of Reference (TORs) for TWGs among countries with established TWGs and those with ongoing work to create one. Among the 11 countries with established TWGs, eight reported having written TORs, with three able to share their TOR copies. Of the countries with ongoing work to establish a TWG, only one reported having a written TOR but unable to share a copy.
Country Highlight: St. Lucia
Saint Lucia’s experience emphasized the importance of broad but deliberate representation, particularly as the TWG progresses toward investment planning and costing.
Ira Azela Leonora Isaacs, Regional Quality Expert – Caribbean, shared that Saint Lucia’s TWG brought together multisectoral representation, including the Health Information Management and Epidemiology units with the Ministry of Health. This structure was critical to the country’s efforts to link the referral system with real-time reporting, particularly for reportable diseases. Beyond the Ministry of Health, the TWG also included representatives from the Ministries of Finance and Education, as well as technical experts from the Digital Transformation Unit of the Public Service Department.
Although the Blueprint Toolkit was not prescriptive about the exact composition, the participants identified for each workshop provided a basis to determine the right technical resource persons in the TWG. One key lesson learned was ensuring that members of the TWG are introduced, remain consistent, and participate in all meetings. Another was that a TWG does not need to be large, but should be deliberate, well-composed, consistent, and engaged. While attendance is valuable, ensuring that the right technical experts are present and able to contribute meaningfully is even more important.
Country Highlight: Papua New Guinea
Michael Koimanrea, IT Officer, National Department of Health, Papua New Guinea, introduced the country’s eHealth TWG, which was set-up under the direction of the higher-level eHealth Steering Committee to ensure that national digital health initiatives are appropriate in the local context and add value to the work of public health and clinical teams in delivering quality healthcare.
Based on the shared TOR, the TWG also reviews new digital health systems and applications and provides technical recommendations to support informed decision-making by the Steering Committee.
The TWG meets quarterly, two weeks ahead of the Steering Committee meetings. Within the broader digital health governance structure, the TWG provides recommendations, while the Steering Committee makes strategic decisions. Partner advisory forums, sub-working groups and provincial-level ICT committees are also part of the structure.
The next CoP meeting will be held in September and will discuss costing digital health blueprints, a key step in advancing implementation.