Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said the two main priorities of the G20 Presidency was fighting epidemics and developing digital health.
The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors of 19 countries and the European Union. The member countries are India, the US, UK, France, Japan, Russia, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Indonesia, South Korea, and China. Together, the G20 accounts for 90 percent of the gross world product and two-thirds of the world population.
He made the remarks on Wednesday during the closing session of Riyadh Global Digital Health Summit, Xinhua news agency reported.
Hosted by Saudi Arabia, the two-day virtual summit brought together global leaders in healthcare systems, public health, digital health, academic institutions, and businesses to discuss the role of digital health technology in fighting COVID-19 and the future pandemics.
The emphasis on digital health was critical as it plays a “fundamental” role in supporting health emergency management by strengthening existing response mechanisms, the Health Minister noted.
In addition, a declaration issued after the summit called for sharing digital healthcare practices and data to help fight the current coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Health Ministry said 1,569 new COVID-19cases were reported on Wednesday, increasing the overall tally to 293,037 Saudi G20 Presidency.
The death toll hit 3,269 with 36 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
