Dr. Muhammad Salman, CEO, National Institutes of Health, calls on PDA

Dr. Muhammad Salman, Chief Executive Officer, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Islamabad, called on the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) at PDA Headquarters, where he met Aamer Rana, Member, PDA, and Sophia Hasnain, Chief of Staff, to exchange perspectives on strengthening Pakistan's health research and digital health ecosystem.

The discussion covered NIH's role across Pakistan's health research and delivery system, including the functions of its specialised institutes. Two mechanisms received particular attention: the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) system, through which outbreaks are detected and acted on, and the National Health Data Center (NHDC), which manages and safeguards national health data.

The meeting reviewed the status of periodic disease bulletins and identified the need for closer alignment between the units that produce and use them, so that decisions rest on current evidence rather than on the most recent report available. Both sides discussed the potential of an integrated digital health stack able to bring critical health information together, with AI-supported analysis to surface findings sooner than manual review allows.

The engagement reflects a shared commitment to building a more connected, data-driven, and technology-enabled public health system for Pakistan. A health system that can measure itself is one that can be improved deliberately rather than reactively. Both sides agreed to take the work forward.