Background information

The session contributed to the implementatio​n of the Question 2/2 workplan and was addressed to representatives of ministries, regulators, telecom operators, universities and general education institutions, telecommunication equipment manufacturers, research and design institutes, software developers and other interested stakeholders of the ITU Member States, Sector Members and Associates.

New technologies are opening up new opportunities to attain the SDGs and particularly SDG 3 that were not possible before. New trends such as Artificial Intelligence, 5G, IoT, Big Data, etc. are enabling prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and early warning for maternal and child health, non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, etc. Their adoption will remain dependent however on their affordability, accessibility, integration with existing systems and sustainable business models. The session provided examples of some of the most promising technologies for e-health and discussed challenges for their adoption at large scale and means to address them.