Geneva – H E Dr Hilal bin Ali Al Sabti, Minister of Health, participated in the high-profile Digital Health Wallets side event held alongside the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly in Geneva. The prestigious gathering brought together international experts and health ministers to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of digital medical records. During his address, Dr Al Sabti emphasised that Oman Vision 2040 is fundamentally designed around a technology-driven, patient-focused, and globally connected health structure, adding that personal control over medical data should be a universal right.

To support this objective, Oman has actively collaborated with the World Health Organisation within the Global Digital Health Certification Network. The Minister noted that the domestic success of the ‘digital Hajj Health Card’ offers definitive proof that the International Patient Summary initiative is a practical, life-saving reality rather than a theoretical concept. Over the 2024 and 2025 Hajj seasons, more than half a million pilgrims successfully utilised these verified records to obtain accurate and timely medical intervention during critical situations.

Oman remains dedicated to advancing the architecture of trusted health credentials framework, which seamlessly unifies the principles of data verifiability, portability, sovereignty, and personal control. This framework is intended as a non-commercial, global system suitable for widespread international adoption, and Oman has declared its full readiness to share its technical expertise with other nations. Notably, Oman, alongside Indonesia and Malaysia, spearheaded the initial pilot during the 2024 mass-mobility event, benefiting over 250,000 pilgrims through secure health tracking.

The sophisticated digital capabilities of the Sultanate are anchored by the highly integrated Al-Shifa system, which currently links more than 85 per cent of health institutions nationwide. This robust setup is further bolstered by the national digital infrastructure and the specialized Health Command and Control Center.