The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, in collaboration with Pakistan Digital Authority, has completed another round of consultative workshops in Karachi under the nationwide Digital Sectoral Plan for the Healthcare Sector. With Muqeem Khan of Aga Khan University serving as technical lead, last week’s sessions brought together key stakeholders to focus on two foundational areas of the country’s digital health strategy.
The first area of focus centered on labs, pharma, and supply chain, examining how digital tools can support real time inventory tracking, end to end transparency, and streamlined laboratory data sharing to improve service delivery nationwide. The second area addressed regulation and governance, covering the development of clear data governance standards, regulatory safeguards, and interoperability protocols intended to build a secure, modern digital health framework for the country.
The workshops drew participation from across the health sector, including leadership from provincial health departments, the Directors General of Health for Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan, federal and provincial Healthcare Commissions, and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry. Organizers said the insights gathered during the sessions are helping shape actionable steps toward a connected, transparent, and technology enabled healthcare ecosystem for Pakistan.
The Karachi sessions mark another milestone in the ongoing ten workshop series spanning Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi, and Muzaffarabad, following an earlier round of workshops held in Lahore covering human resources for health and maternal, newborn, and child health alongside AI and data topics. As the series continues, the initiative is working toward building an all inclusive national digital health strategy that accounts for input from stakeholders across Pakistan’s different provinces and administrative regions.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.