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Novamed’s David Walcott championing digital public health in emerging markets

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Novamed Founder Dr David Walcott was among several participants of the ASEAN Digital Public Health Conference in South East Asia recently.

Hosted by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance and Economy for Brunei Darussalam and organized by global healthcare data analytics company EVYD Technology, the two-day conference brought together the finance and health leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

NovaMed Founder Dr David Walcott
NovaMed Founder and Managing Director, Dr David Walcott; Brunei’s Minister of Health Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar, Brunei’s Minister of Finance and Economy Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah and EVYD Technology CEO Mr Chua Ming Jie at the second staging of the ASEAN Digital Public Health Conference at the Indera Samudera Grand Hall, Empire Hotel in Brunei from November 22 – 23, 2022.

The event sought to chart the way forward for the ASEAN region’s healthcare sector, accelerating the use of technology for future pandemic preparedness and digital public health.

Digital public health refers to tools, interventions and policies utilising digital technologies to serve healthcare needs in a population.

Held under the theme “Health and Healthcare Beyond COVID-19: Building Forward Together”, the conference featured a series of high-level presentations and panel sessions on topics ranging from values-based healthcare to field epidemiology, digital health promotion and sustainable financing for digital public health.

Walcott, the Novamed Managing Director, shared insight on the theme, ‘Investing in Healthcare Technology” on November 23, day two of the conference held at the Indera Samudera Grand Hall, Empire Hotel in Brunei.

Commenting on investments in digital public health, Dr Walcott stated: “From an emerging market healthcare perspective, it’s important to note that a lot of the population is below the digital divide and don’t have the level of digital literacy to be able to navigate these tools. As such, one has to create, deploy and drive usage of these tools with that in mind.”

Through Novamed, the healthcare company he founded in 2018, Dr Walcott and his team have been championing transformative healthcare services, medical education, and health innovation in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.Walcott expressed that Novamed is keen to further share its expertise around the globe, including the ASEAN region.

“Our expertise lies at the intersection of business, healthcare and emerging markets,” Dr Walcott said, noting that most consulting firms only possess expertise in one of those fields. “There’s a lot of activity taking place in the ASEAN region, and Novamed has done some work there. We are looking at opportunities to invest in,” Dr Walcott added.

Utilizing Data Analytics

One area in which Walcott is particularly keen to collaborate is data analytic strategies, utilising insights from public health. Novamed has already hit the ground running by supporting EVYD, which has worked extensively on the Brunei Ministry of Health’s digital public health strategy.

EVYD Technology is a leading player in digital public health globally, with offices in China, the ASEAN region, Singapore, and the US. It aims to transform healthcare using artificial intelligence.

The ASEAN Digital Public Health Conference also promoted discussions around target actions for public health among ASEAN Ministers of Health, Finance and Economy, as well as policymakers, academics, and industry players.

Over the last three years, several ASEAN countries have strengthened their digital health architecture through electronic tools to tackle non-communicable diseases.

 

South Florida Caribbean News

The SFLCN.com Team provides news and information for the Caribbean-American community in South Florida and beyond.

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