Digital Health Week

29 November to 03 December 2021

Digital Health Week - background
The challenge is not technical, it is political!
Transform Health has been set up to try and address this.

WHAT IS IT?
A global week of action to engage as many different partners and constituencies as
possible to highlight the positive benefits and potential risks of digital technology to
extend primary health care and accelerate universal health coverage.

WHAT WILL WE DO?

• We will start a national conversation across many different countries to elevate the
issue of digital transformation of health and bring more people and organisations
into the conversation.
• We want to build public and political understanding and support for the digital
transformation of health systems and the use of data to achieve universal health
coverage.
Digital Health Week - Health for all in a digital age

PURPOSE
To extend the public conversation on the need for a more systematic approach to the
digitalisation of health systems and the use of data to enable governments to achieve their UHC
targets by 2030.

A CALL TO ACTION
It’s time to ensure digital health and data are used to provide health for all. Together we can
rethink health and ensure universal health coverage by 2030. Join us and help make this
happen!

Health for all in the digital age requires a digital transformation of health systems and the
effective use of data for public good purposes. We ALL have a part to play.

Transform Health will call on organisations to make or reaffirm commitments to support the
digital transformation of health systems and the use of data to achieve UHC. We will gather
these commitments in one place to show the extent of the engagement on this issue.
Digital Health Week - Health for all in a digital age
What will the week look like?
This will vary from context to context, and be based on our partners plans for engagement.
However certain key features and events will be replicated across context, such as:
Monday Multisectoral convenings to discuss the state of digital transformation
of the health system in different contexts.

Wednesday Youth engagement forums in multiple countries.

Throughout Storytelling throughout the week.

the week

Thursday Global and regional panel discussions organised concurrently in

Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa where government and
other stakeholders endorse the Health Data Governance Principles
and make meaningful commitments around digital transformation of
health.
Outcomes
1. Partners in at least 8 countries organise and participate in a series of actions
aimed at broadening the conversation around Digital Health Week.
2. At least 100 significant commitments per country gathered.
3. At least 8 parliamentary meetings are organised with legislators to discuss the
challenges and opportunities presented by the digital transformation of health
systems.
4. Youth organisations organise a series of outreach events aimed at mobilising
their supporters and call for greater government action to address the digital
transformation of health systems.
5. Government roundtables with the private sector and civil society organised in at
least eight countries.
6. At least 8 professional bodies participate in digital health week.
7. Governments in at least four countries endorse the Health Data Governance
Principles and make commitments around the need for a global data governance
framework.
 Sign up mechanism
When? Announcement of Digital Health Week at this year’s UNGA

How? Launch the website (microsite tbd) that invites all parties to start making commitments at
the country level

Who? Transform Health partners across different countries will be encouraged to sign up to take
part in Digital Health Week.

Where? We will work with partners to identify a country lead to coordinate the efforts, plan the
events and engage in logistics necessary to bring stakeholders together.
Current lead partners:
● Kenya - KELIN
● Indonesia - IAKMI
● Latin America (Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras) - RECAINSA
● India - ?

Get in touch with Frank (frank.smith@transformhealthcoalition.org) if you are interested in becoming a lead partner.
Resources for Digital
Health Week
Key questions and calls
In order to ensure consistency across contexts we would like to encourage partners to frame
the event around a central question: What does health for all in a digital world mean in our
context?

Partners will be encouraged to explore a further set of questions during their meetings and
engagement:
1. What does Digital Health mean for you?
2. Why do we need digital health?
3. How can it help us on the road to universal health coverage?

We would also like to encourage partners to develop specific calls to action that will enable
the country to progress on its path to digital transformation. These calls may include:
- Calls for medical and nursing colleges to include digital technology in their curriculums,
- Calls for more training on management of digital technology and data.
- Calls for clearer regulation on the use of digital technology and data to achieve UHC.
- Calls for a clearer and more predictable regulatory and legislative environment for digital transformation and the
use of data to achieve UHC.
- Calls for a more support for young innovators in the tech for health sector.
Capturing and building on commitments made
We will invite all participating organisations to make commitments during digital health
week. There are many different types of commitment that can be made, such as:

• A financial or resource commitment

• A technical commitment
• A programmatic commitment
• A training and capacity development commitment
• A management commitment
• A research and knowledge based commitment
• A regulatory, legislative or normative commitment
• An outreach and communications commitment
• An advocacy and accountability commitment
• A commitment to diversity and inclusion

Organisations and individuals will be able to make their commitments using the relevant
form on the Digital Health Week website.
Activities and events
A list of potential activities will be set out in a toolkit that organisations and individuals can
download from the Digital Health Week website. These activities will include the following:

• Parliamentary meetings and events

• Meetings with different organisations to share experiences and learning
• Multi-stakeholder roundtables with the government, private sector, academia, civil society and
professional bodies
• Project and other visits
• The publication of reports such as a landscape analysis
• Petitions
• Videos, vlogs and blogs
• Leaflets, information packs and press kits, newsletters and posters
• Celebrity endorsement
• Social media campaign
• Press conferences, media briefings
• Profile young entrepreneurs
Outreach and communication
With support from a design agency

• Creation of a microsite to host all information about Digital Health Week –

downloadable advocacy material, commitments made by partners and organisations
(through sign-up mechanism on site), upcoming/completed events hosted for Digital
Health Week
• Develop and promote a sign up mechanism / form on the microsite to enable
organisations to make commitments. Commitments will need to fulfil certain criteria and
be trackable.
• Create a toolkit to enable advocacy during Digital Health Week
• Develop social media assets including short videos, leaflets and stories etc
• Promote different digital solutions that connect the most marginalised and hard to
access communities
• Develop case studies and stories from the field
 Simple Project Plan
May June July August September October Novembe
r

Call goes out to all partners and other to take part in Digital Health Week

National coordinator identified across different countries

Public consultation on the data governance framework launched

Commitments collected up until 05 November

Videos and leaflets with basic facts designed (detailed information can be added after the Lancet Commission issues its
findings) and translated

Stories on the positive impact of digital health on the lives of the poorest and most marginalised sourced

Meetings with government during Digital Health Week organised and if possible coordinated announcements /
commitments worked out

Events agreed with partners at a national level, taking into account the long lead in period needed to activate
professional bodies, academia and the private sector.

Toolkits for different organisations with recommendations for events to hold developed and translated

Recommendation of the Lancet Commission interpreted and briefs for partners produced and sent out

Media partners identified nationally, regionally and globally

Digital Health Week microsite developed and launched

Launch the outcome of the public consultation on the health data governance principles during DHW
Timeline

G20: C20
communique and
promotion of key
Planning: messaging
Identify lead among civil
partners in key society +
countries and GDHF & UHC
activation of Day: Kick off of
at the regional future G20 host 2022
level countries engagement
21.
MaySept Sept
2019
Nov

Planning June UNGA: Virtual side Oct Digital Health Dec

plans event to announce Week: A global
developed Digital Health week of action,
and circulated Week, launch the regional and
to partners microsite and invite national
commitments launches
Launch of public
consultation on
the health data
governance
principles