Alain Labrique is thrilled to join Global Digital Health Forum 2024
Alain Labrique, Director of Department of Digital Health and Innovation at World Health Organization, posted on LinkedIn:
“Thrilled to join global leaders at the 2024 Global Digital Health Network’s Global Digital Health Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, where we’re discussing and shaping the future of digital health to better serve communities worldwide.
Last week, a World Health Organization collaboration with Sara (Meg) Davis and her incredible team at the University of Warwick, launched a groundbreaking report: ‘Towards People-Centred Digital Health Strategies: Gender, Equity, Rights, and Inclusion.’
This report examines 20 national digital health strategies through the lens of gender equity, human rights, and inclusion—and it identifies some critical gaps that urgently need to be addressed.
While progress is being made, the report highlights serious shortfalls that demand action:
Gender-blind strategies: Not one of the strategies reviewed adequately addressed gender inequalities, despite clear evidence of the digital gender divide and its impact on women and girls’ access to technology and healthcare.
Neglect of diverse populations: Strategies often failed to consider the needs of marginalised groups—such as persons with disabilities, linguistic minorities, and rural communities—leaving them at risk of exclusion from the benefits of digital health.
Limited focus on human rights: Few strategies integrated rights-based approaches, missing opportunities to uphold privacy, autonomy, and equality as core principles.
Weak community engagement: The voices of civil society, young people, and those directly impacted by digital health policies are rarely included in the planning or accountability phases.
This is a call to action. If digital health is to live up to its potential as a driver of health equity, we MUST embed gender, equity, and rights at every stage of strategy development.
This means:
- Prioritizing gender-sensitive data analysis to inform national strategies.
- Engaging with diverse stakeholders, including civil society, youth, and communities, to ensure inclusive and meaningful participation.
- Strengthening normative guidance to include gender and human rights perspectives.
- Scaling up investments in digital health literacy to empower end-users and healthcare workers alike.
The report provides a roadmap to address these gaps and ensure digital health strategies deliver equitable and inclusive healthcare for all. Let’s rise to the challenge together—policymakers, funders, civil society, and technologists—so that no one is left behind in this digital health revolution.
Read the report here.”
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