India Seeks Collaboration with Google on Digital Health Tools at World Health Assembly

Google Research and NHA are collaborating on developing an open-source ABDM wrapper to simplify the integration process for the ABDM sandbox environment.

India sought extended collaboration with Google for increased access to digital health on the sidelines of the 77th World Health Assembly underway in Geneva.

Indian Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra, who is leading the Indian delegation, met Dr Karen DeSalvo, Chief Health Officer at the World Health Assembly (WHA).

The meeting focused on enhancing collaboration between NHA and Google in the sphere of AI and digital health tools for the Indian population.

Collaboration on Digital Health Initiatives

The Union Health Secretary emphasized the importance of exploring collaboration in areas including Artificial Intelligence (AI) for healthcare.

He specifically requested Google's support for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). This initiative aims to create a robust digital health ecosystem in India.

Chandra proposed leveraging AI-powered tools such as Automated Retinal Disease Assessment (ARDA) within the ABDM framework.

He also highlighted the need to raise awareness about ABDM among students and the startup community.

Google-NHA Collaboration

The Google team acknowledged their ongoing engagement with India's National Health Authority (NHA), which began in 2022.

Google's AI model for diabetic retinopathy screening (ARDA) is already listed on the ABDM website.

Additionally, Google Research and NHA are collaborating on developing an open-source ABDM wrapper to simplify the integration process for the ABDM sandbox environment.

India's Leadership at the WHA

The WHA has sessions in three committees including Plenary, Committee A and Committee B. The Indian health secretary’s meeting with Google coincided with India chairing Committee A of the WHA.

This committee focuses on programmatic topics including Universal Health Coverage, public health emergency preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance.

In his address to the WHA, Chandra emphasized the alignment between the theme "All for Health, Health for All" and India's core value of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (the world is one family).

He highlighted India's efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic within its borders and supply vital health resources globally. India's commitment to health innovation and ensuring access to healthcare services were also emphasized.

Chandra noted India's establishment of over 173,000 health and wellness centers aimed at addressing community health needs and promoting preventative practices.

"When all countries are working towards our collective sustainable development goals and ensuring health services for all so that no one gets left behind, India has been taking the lead in advocating for detailed health innovations as key to the crucial transformative process required to help us achieve our goals," Chandra said.

"India has established more than 1,73,000 health and wellness centres to not only address health issues at the community level but also focus on educating communities towards better health-seeking behaviour," he added.