Digital Health, Drug Resistant Pathogens & Pandemic Preparedness: Keynote Topics At World Health Summit

At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of health systems – digital health technologies are playing a fast-expanding role – showing their revolutionary potential to address old and new needs and gaps, said participants on a Digital Health panel at the World Health Summit on Monday. 

Data sharing with biological specimens and whole genome sequences have enabled an unprecedented level of vaccine development within 10 months of the discovery of the novel virus, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan, another panel participant pointed out. 

Digital solutions also are making health care services more accessible and allowing people to better monitor and manage their own health – and their potential in that respect has only begun to be tapped, said Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety in the European Commission.