The Global Initiative on Health Technologies (GIHT) was initiated in March 2008 and implemented by the Diagnostic Imaging and Medical Devices unit of the Department of Essential Health Technologies at the World Health Organization (WHO) in an effort to improve access to appropriate health technologies. The specific aims of the GIHT were:

• to support the international community on establishing a framework for the development of national health technology programmes that will have an impact on the burden of disease and ensure effective use of resources
• to encourage the business and scientific communities to identify and adapt "innovative" technologies that can have a significant impact on public health in developing countries

The grant awarded to reach these objectives concluded in March 2011. This CD-ROM is the final product and will provide to Member States, funding agencies, medical technology industry, and the academic and scientific community resources to assist Member States in establishing and implementing health technology programmes as well as information on core and innovative technologies.

WHO also organized several meetings and workshops under the GIHT to increase awareness and to encourage dialogue among all stakeholders.

Content

The CD-ROM is organized into four sections:

Baseline country survey on medical devices

• Provides information on the status quo of the availability of specific medical devices, health technology policies and guidelines, as conveyed by 145 Member States.
• Includes country focal points and maps reflecting the global state of medical devices.

Medical device technical series

• Provides guidance on health technology policy, health technology assessment and health technology management (specifically on the areas of needs assessment, procurement, donations, inventories and maintenance of medical devices).

New and emerging technologies

• Introduces a compendium of health technologies that address global health concerns, organized according to those that have been recently commercialized and those that are under development.

Resources for health technology selection

• Provides a compilation of core medical equipment that can be used in hospitals, lists of medical equipment that can be available in different types of health facilities and a list of prequalified medical devices.

Acknowledgements

The implementation of the Global Initiative on Health Technologies was made possible with the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. WHO would like to express its sincere gratitude to the Foundation and its staff for supporting this project.

The material in this DVD was developed with input from health technology focal points in Member States, collaborating centers, members of the Technical Advisory Group in Health technologies, professional organizations and experts in the field.

The Department of Essential Health Technologies would also like to thank all authors, reviewers, editors, and technical and administrative staff for their contribution.