Digital Health and Rights Project

🥳Thank you to everyone who joined us for our #WHA79 side event, both online and in person. The discussions were timely, insightful, and deeply engaging, reflecting the importance of advancing inclusive conversations around digital access, health, and equity. We appreciate the valuable contributions from all speakers, participants, and partners who made this dialogue meaningful. We will be sharing the event recording in the coming days; stay tuned. #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

Aarushi Gupta: Public participation should not begin only when challenges are identified or concerns are raised. Meaningful inclusion must be embedded from the very beginning — from the conceptualisation of digital technologies and applications, through their development, testing, implementation, and ongoing feedback processes. Equally important, participation frameworks must be intentionally inclusive, ensuring that diverse voices are brought into the conversation rather than excluded or segmented. True innovation is only possible when communities are engaged as partners throughout the entire process. #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

.@AlistairCShaw: Public participation is fundamental to the way we work at @GlobalFund. We believe that sustainable and effective health responses must be rooted in community leadership, with meaningful engagement channels through civil society organisations and strong national-level partnerships that embrace a multi-sectoral approach. Inclusion and public participation are not symbolic exercises — they require deliberate investment, trust-building, accountability, and continuous dialogue. There is much more to unpack in ensuring that communities are not only heard, but are genuinely part of shaping the decisions that affect their lives. #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

Dr. Melanie Bertram: The @WHO is doing a lot to ensure that young voices are included in decision-making processes. This includes initiatives such as the Youth Council and collaborations with civil society organisations that bring communities together. While more can and should be done, we must acknowledge the efforts already being made to turn meaningful youth participation into a reality. #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

.@winniegift1: When young people are excluded from decision-making processes on issues that directly affect us as consumers and digital participants on these platforms, it amounts to a deliberate denial of public participation — a right that is firmly protected under the Constitution of Kenya. We need to see effective and comprehensive public participation across board that includes young people. #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

👉We are now onto our panel discussion chaired by Ulla Jasper, Policy lead @FondationBotnar, featuring: 🔆Melanie Bertram Unit Head, Insights, Capacity and Operations, Data, Digital Health and AI Department, @WHO, 🔆@AlistairCShaw of @GlobalFund, 🔆Aaarushi Gupta - Senior Research Manager at @DigiFuturesLab 🔆@winniegift1 of the Kenya Community Advisory Team #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

Ulla Jasper: As a philanthropy @FondationBotnar, this is a truly meaningful project to support. It is important to recognise the opportunity we have to contribute to an initiative of this nature - one that is relevant, significant, and capable of creating lasting impact in the communities it serves. #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

@MollyPughJones: Young people are a core part of what we've been doing and involved at every stage, key to our success! #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

Tran Khanh: I've been involved with every part of this wonderful project for three years, from research to advocacy. Khanh is a member of the Vietnam Community Advisory Team to the Digital health and Rights Project. #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

#3: Where technologies pose unacceptable human rights risks, their use should be paused until adequate guardrails are in place." #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

Opening remarks by @hickspeggy @ohchr at the @DigHealthRights Side Event, #WH79 #1: Digital transformation needs to be intentionally designed, developed and regulated in line with human rights law. It won't serve health as a default. #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

#2: Health data is by its very nature a sensitive category of data. Robust governance and strict purpose limitations are of particular importance to mitigate risks of surveillance. #WHA79 #CostsOfConnection

...and we are live! #WHA79 DHRP Side event. @mariamalom

⌛️ Starting in 15 MINUTES — we're ready for you! Promoting Human Rights in Digital Health & AI Strategies: National and Global Perspectives 💻 Spanish & Vietnamese translation available online! Still time to sign up for online attendance 👇 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI… See you soon! 🙌

🚨 WE START IN 30 MINUTES! Join us now, online or in-person! 📍 Promoting Human Rights in Digital Health and AI Strategies: National and Global Perspectives 🕑 2:00pm – 3:30pm CEST today | Impact Hub, Rue Fendt 1, Geneva 👉Nine extraordinary voices spanning UN human rights mechanisms, WHO, community advisors, and youth advocates; all in one room. Don't miss it. Register and join 👇 lnkd.in/dgqnZFwq @saralmdavis @AlistairCShaw @MollyPughJones @MichaelPodmore @winniegift1 @mariamalom @MalecheAllan

Our very own principal investigator @saralmdavis🥳 will be tomorrow moderating the @WHO launch of SCORE 2025 — a landmark assessment of health information systems across 145 countries. 📊 Are governments equipped to collect, store, analyse & use data to make life-saving decisions? Without strong digital foundations, health systems fly blind. 🗓 Wed 20 May | 18:30–21:00 CET | Geneva + online Register 👉 who.zoom.us/meeting/regist…

📣 We are proud to have @MollyPughJones, Advocacy Manager at @STOPAIDS, speaking at our #79WHA side event! @STOPAIDS works tirelessly to ensure that global health systems leave no one behind; and Molly's advocacy expertise is crucial as we examine how digital health tools can both empower and endanger the most marginalised communities. 📅 Wednesday, 20 May 2026 🕑 2:00pm – 3:30pm CEST 📍 Impact Hub, Geneva Register here for online or in-person attendance: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

🔬 Spotlight on our speaker Aarushi Gupta, Senior Research Manager at @DigitalFuturesLab (India)! Aarushi's research investigates the social and rights implications of digital technologies in the Global South: a critical lens for understanding how national digital health strategies can uphold or undermine human rights in practice. Her perspective from India makes her an essential voice at the #79WHA. 📅 Wednesday, 20 May 2026 🕑 2:00pm – 3:30pm CEST 📍 Impact Hub, Geneva Register here for online or in-person attendance: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

💡 We are delighted to welcome Ulla Jasper, Policy Lead at @FondationBotnar, as a speaker at our World Health Assembly side event! @Fondation Botnar champions the ethical use of AI and digital technology to improve young people's health and wellbeing; and has also been part of our @DigHealthRights journey. Ulla will help us explore how philanthropic and policy actors can drive rights-respecting innovation in digital health. 📅 Wednesday, 20 May 2026 🕑 2:00pm – 3:30pm CEST 📍 Impact Hub, Geneva Register here for online or in-person attendance: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

📊 Joining us at the #79WHA side event: Dr. Melanie Bertram, Unit Head for Insights, Capacity and Operations in the Data, Digital Health and AI Department at @WHO! With frontline experience shaping how @WHO approaches data and digital health, Dr. Melanie will offer a unique institutional perspective on translating global strategy into real-world outcomes for people everywhere. 📅 Wednesday, 20 May 2026 🕑 2:00pm – 3:30pm CEST 📍 Impact Hub, Geneva Register here for online or in-person attendance: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…