New York, United states, 13 September 2016 – DITTA, the Global Diagnostic Imaging, Healthcare IT and Radiation Therapy Trade Association, calls for prioritization of medical technologies in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, as they remain of key importance to ensure healthy lives and increase access to healthcare.

Medical Technologies (which includes medical devices) are critical in any health delivery system and help in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, management and control of diseases and maternal, newborn and child health. In fact, the WHO framework on Strengthening Health Systems refers to “medical products, vaccines and technologies” as an essential building block for health systems.

Many of essential medical technology examples are referenced in the WHO Compendium of innovative health technologies for low-resource settings published by WHO in 2014.

Nicole Denjoy, DITTA Vice-Chair, said, “Medical technology saves lives.  Without medical technology, there would be no radiotherapy treatment for cancer, no infant warmers for babies suffering from hypothermia, no LED phototherapy for neonatal jaundice and the detection and cure of tuberculosis and HIV would not be possible.  These are just some examples of medical technology’s contributions, taken from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Compendium of innovative health technologies for low-resource settings.” 

Nicole Denjoy added, “Medical technology is vital in diagnosing, monitoring and treating diseases.  Without medical technologies, health systems would simply collapse.  Therefore, it is key to use medical technologies in the implementation phase of SDGs”.