The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) met with representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) Pakistan to strengthen collaboration on the country’s digital health ecosystem, with officials emphasizing that governance frameworks need to be established before systems are built, given how critical the health sector is to the population. The meeting was led by Dr. Sohail Munir, Chairperson of PDA, and Dr. Luo Dapeng, WHO Representative in Pakistan.
During the discussion, Dr. Munir shared progress on the National Digital Masterplan, in which health has been identified as a strategic priority sector, along with updates on the Digital Health Sector Plan, which is currently being shaped through consultations with both federal and provincial stakeholders. PDA also outlined its broader vision for Pakistan’s Digital Public Infrastructure, which includes a National Data Exchange, sectoral digital stacks, interoperable health information systems, and foundational digital registries intended to enable secure and seamless digital public services across the country.
WHO reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Pakistan’s digital health efforts through global technical expertise, international best practices, digital health frameworks, guidance on artificial intelligence governance and ethics, and support around interoperability and health data governance. The discussion also touched on the growing role artificial intelligence and digital technologies could play in areas such as disease surveillance, hospital management, electronic health records, clinical decision support, and public health intelligence more broadly. Both sides agreed to deepen collaboration across several areas, including digital health governance and policy development, digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence in health, health data governance and interoperability, international standards and technical cooperation, provincial stakeholder engagement, and the development and implementation of the National Digital Health Sector Plan.
PDA and WHO also committed to maintaining regular technical engagement as the collaboration moves forward, with officials noting that sustained engagement matters more than a single agreement, since the underlying policy, standards, frameworks, and capacity building required for a functional digital health system will need to be developed over time. The partnership reflects a broader effort to formalize digital health governance in Pakistan as the Digital Health Sector Plan progresses from the consultation stage toward actual implementation across federal and provincial health systems.
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