ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (MoNHSR&C), in collaboration with the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA), has conducted the first two consultative workshops in Lahore under the nationwide Digital Sectoral Plan for the Healthcare Sector.
The sessions brought together health sector leadership from Punjab and a broad group of stakeholders to help shape Pakistan’s future vision for digital health.
The first session, focused on Human Resources for Health (HRH), was facilitated by Prof Mahmood Shaukat. The second session, covering Maternal, Newborn and Child Health along with AI, Data and Digital Health, was facilitated by Dr Naeem Majeed.
According to the organisers, the Lahore consultations are part of a 10-workshop series being held across Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi, Gilgit and Muzaffarabad. The series is aimed at developing an inclusive digital health strategy for the country.
Officials said health is one of the sectors where digital transformation is felt most directly by citizens, adding that progress depends on closer coordination among institutions rather than working in isolation.
PDA Founding Chairman Dr Sohail Munir said sectoral transformation should be co-created with those who would live with the outcomes, instead of being handed down from the centre.
He said health is a devolved subject and the provinces are co-authors of the plan, not merely consultees. He also noted that the private sector, which delivers a significant share of healthcare services in Pakistan, must help design the systems it will operate on.
Dr Munir said the Pakistan Digital Authority’s role is to convene, set standards and enable the process, while ownership rests with the health sector itself.
He thanked the Ministry of National Health Services for taking the lead and the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication for its support. He also invited provincial health departments, hospitals, HealthTech innovators, academia and development partners to contribute their ideas to the process.
