At the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), 200 global leaders, civil society, and tech experts came together to promote digital health solutions as a way of transforming health systems to save literally millions of lives. Hosted by The Government of The Gambia and the UN NCD Task Force, the event launched a major new report, spotlighting the enormous potential of digital tools to tackle NCDs while calling for immediate investment.
Participants at the UN NCD Task Force and Government of The Gambia high-level side event on digital for NCDs
Central to the discussion was the launch of a new publication from the Task Force, the World Health Organization and International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Going Digital for Noncommunicable Diseases: The Case for Action, which outlined compelling new evidence of how small strategic investments can yield massive returns. Investing less than US$1 per individual living with an NCD each year in digital solutions can prevent 7 million acute health events, save 2 million lives, and generate nearly US$200 billion in economic gains over the next decade.
Participant reading the “Going digital for noncommunicable diseases: the case for action” Task Force publication
Welcoming the report, The Gambia's Minister of Health, Hon. Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh described the potential of digital for enhancing delivery of healthcare. As part of this, he announced plans for a digital health investment case in The Gambia to accelerate digital transformation, with the support of the Task Force. ‘We see digital health as essential, not only for strengthening our national health system but also for ensuring that all Gambians, regardless of where they live, have access to the best care possible,’ Minister Samateh emphasized, highlighting achievements in telemedicine and mobile health technologies that are already saving lives in the country.
Hon. Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, Minister of Health, The Gambia addresses the audience
Hon Dr Jo Etienne Abela, Malta’s Minister of Health, Hani Eskandar from the ITU, José Luis Castro, the WHO Director-General’s Special Envoy on Chronic Respiratory Diseases, Intelehealth’s Neha Verma, and NCD Alliance’s Alison Cox joined Minster Samateh to discuss how to make digital health work for health systems. Together they, emphasised the importance of generating robust evidence on the impact of digital tools for better health outcomes and leveraging the need to ensure alignment of digital infrastructure at the national level.
‘For success, it's essential to have the right infrastructure in place and to leverage existing technologies already widely accessible to people, such as social media, mobile platforms, and feature phones,’ explained Eskandar. ‘These tools are familiar, affordable, and capable of reaching the critical mass needed to drive impactful change,’ he added. In addition, Luis Castro stressed the importance of investing in health systems for the technology to work well, ‘without strengthening primary health care systems, then the whole system cannot deliver.’ Emphasizing the need for inclusive strategies to ensure no one is left behind, Minister Abela said, ‘We need to make sure that we address the digital divide, especially as we see an ageing population.’
Panel discussion on making digital solutions work for national health systems with Minister Samateh (Gambia), Jose Luis Castro (WHO), Neha Verma (Intelehealth), Hani Eskandar (ITU), Alison Cox (NCD Alliance) and Minister Jo Etienne Abela (Malta)
Hon. Dr. Ibrahima Sy, Minister of Health of Senegal, Vice President for Western and Central Africa for World Bank, Mr. Ousmane Diagana, along with Dr Mary-Ann Etiebet of Vital Strategies, Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazaq from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Alain Labrique of WHO and Mr. Nicolai Haugaard from Novo Nordisk all stressed the importance of long-term investment strategies, collaborative partnership and aligning action at the country level to ensure digital solutions are sustainable and scalable. ‘Nothing happens without close partnership with government and understanding from government what their priorities are and being able to mobilize and bring together resources’ emphasised Etiebet.
Panel discussion on investing in digital solutions, resource mobilisation and partnerships for scale with Minister Ibrahima Sy (Senegal), Mary-Ann Etiebet (Vital Strategies), Ousmane Diagana (World Bank), Shaukat Abdulrazaq (IAEA), Nicolai Haugaard (Novo Nordisk) and Orsolya Ihasz (RHC)
Labrique, WHO's Director of Digital Health and Innovation was clear, ‘Digital health is not just an option—it’s a necessity. The evidence is clear: small investments today can yield massive returns tomorrow. We need to scale up now,’ while emphasizing, ‘We must move beyond a state of small-scale digital experiments from e-chaos and fragmented piecemeal solutions to well-governed national digital ecosystems.’
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the rallying call. ‘The future of health is digital. But to make this vision a reality, we need both resources and collaboration. No single organization can do it alone. We call on governments, partners, and donors to come together, invest strategically, and ensure that these life-saving innovations reach those who need them most.’
Alain Labrique (WHO) delivers closing remarks
The UN NCD Task Force Secretariat is committed to supporting countries in their digital health journey. Whether through strategic guidance, partnerships, or financing solutions, WHO, ITU and the Task Force Secretariat stands ready to help countries develop digital health tools to save lives.
Showcasing the publication on digital health, Alain Labrique (WHO), Neneh Sallah (Task Force Secretariat), Minister Ahmadou Lamin Samateh (The Gambia)
Participants networking at the cocktail reception
For further information contact unncdtaskforce@who.int.