ShareKUWAIT: The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Kuwait, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), launched a pivotal workshop on February 17, 2025 focusing on “The development of a national Health Information Governance and Management Framework.” The launching event, held at the Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization, gathered key stakeholders from across the public, private, and civil sectors, as well as health experts from various countries, to chart the way forward.
The workshop which runs until February 19, 2025 aims to define strategies for ensuring the proper governance of health data in Kuwait. It underscores the critical role of data in enhancing healthcare systems, supporting evidence-based policies, ensuring patient privacy, and achieving universal health coverage. Key discussions during the workshop focus on issues including data quality, privacy protection, and interoperability, with building trust in the use and management of health data. WHO representatives, including Dr Assad Hafeez, WHO Representative to Kuwait, Dr Henry Doctor, WHO EMRO Coordinator for Information Systems for Health, and Dr Salmi Al Salmi, Consultant from Oman College of Health Sciences, will lead sessions on global best practices, lessons learned, and actionable frameworks for health data governance.
The workshop will also feature important contributions from Dr Vikas Dwivedi from UNICEF, the private sector, and other national stakeholders. A range of national stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), and the Ministry of Justice, are participating, contributing to the discussions about their expectations and roles in ensuring ethical, patient-centered health data governance.
Speaking at the launch of the workshop, Dr Assad Hafeez emphasized the need for a multi-stakeholder approach to successfully implement the health data governance framework and reiterated the WHO’s commitment to continuing to support Kuwait in building a responsive, inclusive, and effective health data ecosystem. The collaborative nature of this initiative sets the stage for a more integrated and sustainable health data management model in Kuwait.
Dr Fatima Al-Asoomi, Director of the National Center for Health Information, expressed her gratitude to all participants for their active and valuable contributions. She emphasized that the efforts to enhance health data governance in Kuwait are only just beginning. Dr Al-Asoomi reiterated the Center’s unwavering commitment to collaborating with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the governance framework, which will play a pivotal role in improving healthcare services and advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Over the course of the two-day event, participants will engage in collaborative activities aimed at identifying gaps within current policies, prioritizing the governance of health data, addressing legal and ethical considerations, and developing a comprehensive policy framework that will guide the future management of health data in Kuwait.
Over the course of two days, the participants will engage in group activities focusing on identifying gaps in current policies, defining priorities for health data governance, addressing legal and ethical considerations, and designing a policy framework to guide the future of health data management in Kuwait. As a result of the workshop, an action plan will be developed to guide the implementation of the national health data governance framework.
