"Global benchmark": WHO's Catharina Boehme hails India as first in region to adopt national health AI strategy

The session saw Union Health Minister JP Nadda launch two landmark initiatives, SAHI (Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India) and BODH (Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI). The high-level panel included Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW); Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge (OIC), WHO South-East Asia Region; and Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur.

Addressing the summit, Catharina Boehme commended India's digital health journey, noting that India has set a global benchmark.

"India is the first country in the South-East Asia region to adopt a comprehensive national AI strategy for health, and one of the first countries globally to have such a strategy," she stated.

Boehme highlighted that AI is already influencing health systems by improving screening, diagnosis, and surveillance, while accelerating research and service delivery.

She further noted that the new framework focuses on moving from "promise to actual impact" by addressing governance, oversight, data interoperability, secure infrastructure, and workforce readiness.

She emphasised that while the strategy sets out the rules, the "real work now lies in its implementation."

Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava detailed the decade-long digital transformation of India's health system.

She noted that the national digital health blueprint laid the foundation through open standards and interoperability, which was further strengthened by the Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission (ABDM).

Srivastava highlighted that AI is already being integrated into public health systems for tuberculosis risk prediction, mapping vulnerable spots, diabetic retinopathy screening, and assisting telemedicine consultations.

"Today's launch of SAHI and BODH marks an important step in the advancement of AI in healthcare," she said, thanking stakeholders from the National Health Authority (NHA) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

SAHI represents a long-term policy commitment by the government, providing a common framework for union and state governments, public health institutions, and the private sector.

It is designed to guide AI evaluation, adoption, and integration.

Meanwhile, the BODH platform aims to ensure that AI tools used by frontline workers and clinicians are safe, reliable, and effective, expediting their integration into clinical and public health systems.

Srivastava expressed gratitude to the Union Health Minister for his guidance, stating that his presence indicates the "salience the government attaches to the effective and inclusive use of AI in public health." (ANI)