As PharmAccess calls for adoption of relevance digital technologies
By Gabriel Ewepu – Abuja
As government press to improve on service delivery to Nigerians, report by Lancet-Financial Times Commission, Friday, harped on technology and data driven health care service delivery system.
This was contained in a report titled ‘Governing Health Futures 2030: Growing Up In a Digital World’, which pointed that access and literacy are key determinants of health care data, and also demands bold action in terms of public trust in digital technologies and data solidarity technology.
Lancet-Financial Times Commission pointed out that radical rethink by governments remains a major way to harness benefits and impact of digital technologies for the nation’s health sector’s future.
According to it, in order to set out a fundamental new approach to digital technology, it will promote equitable, affordable, and universal improvements to health of the people.
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However, with digital transformations already underway, but the authors warn that without a dramatic change from the current course of data-extractive, commercially-driven digital technologies, these will not deliver health benefits for all.
The Lancet-FT Commission is the result of two years of work from 19 leading experts from 14 countries, with backgrounds in global health, clinical medicine, public health, mental health, digital media, ICT, social science, economics, and politics, as well as global consultations with youth groups.
Meanwhile, the Country Director, PharmAccess Nigeria, Njide Ndili, explained the relevance of digital technologies and data, and the benefits as far as future of health care is concerned.
Ndili is also co-author of the report, and she joined the Commission in 2019, as Commissioner for Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Lancet and Financial Times.
“The report recognizes the increasing relevance of digital technologies and data. PharmAccess is among the organizations pushing for governance models that use data for the public good, so we can start to fully reap the benefits for the future of healthcare”, she said.
The report also made it clear that digital transformations can improve health for all people around the world, however, only possible if digital technology is governed in the public interest rather than for private profit.
It also added that health, for all values of democracy, equity, solidarity, inclusion, and human rights are put at the core of its design and use.
Meanwhile, the report warns that following the current path of data-extractive commercially driven digital transformations, will fail to deliver health benefits to all.
Instead, a new radical approach should be used in redirecting digital technologies to advance Universal Health Coverage, UHC, whereby it ensures that gains in digital health are equitable, and puts children and young people who have been exposed to these technologies their entire lives front and centre.
With access to quality health information and services increasingly reliant on digital technologies and data, the Commission also calls for digital access and digital literacy to be recognised as a key determinants of health, and to ensure that every person has safe and affordable access to the Internet by 2030.
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