Commonwealth e-health meeting

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Commonwealth Asian Regional Meeting on e-health – use of information and communication technology for health will be held today and tomorrow. The meeting will be inaugurated by Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

According to the spokesman the event will be held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo 3 and it will bring together senior officials from the health ministries and ministries responsible for Information Communication and Technology (ITC) in the eight Commonwealth countries in Asia.

The meeting will facilitate sharing information among countries and enable the identification of priority needs, policies, plans and partnership arrangements to move forward on e-health development in the region. Investment in e-health is a high priority for Commonwealth countries as a means to extend access to effective health service, he said.

At the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting held in May 2008, the ministers mandated the Commonwealth Secretariat to advocate for and promote e-health in member countries, he added.