Digital Health for
Development Hub

A one-stop shop with technical,
advisory and partnership support for scaling up digital health solutions. A one-stop shop with technical, advisory and partnership support for scaling up digital health solutions.

Key resourcesarrowAbout the HubarrowContextarrowPartnershipsarrow
backgrund spin
backgrund

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) works with countries, communities and partners to scale up evidence- and rights-based digital health solutions for resilient and sustainable health systems, and better health and well-being for all.

The main aim of the Digital Health for Development Hub is to assist countries to identify, adapt and scale up appropriate digital solutions that strengthen health systems, while supporting effective and inclusive governance for digital health and addressing the inequalities that fuel disease and pandemics. The Hub exemplifies UNDP’s strategic focus on transformative drivers for sustainable development.

Mobile Health
  • Smartphone apps
  • Wearable devices
  • Remote patient monitoring
Data Management
  • Health management information systems
  • Electronic health records
  • Interoperability
Outpatient Services
  • Telemedicine
  • Preventive home based care
  • Rural health services
Medical Logistics
  • Real-time stock management of vaccines & medicines
  • Remote temperature monitoring
  • Beneficiary tracking
Smart Health Facilities
  • Renewable energy
  • Sensor-based technologies
  • Optimized payments
  • E-pharmacies
Education
  • Distance medical education
  • Training health workers
  • Combat misinformation
  • E-libraries
Close
Loading data..

iconKey resources

Assessment Toolkit for Digital Health

Enables a range of assessments to be conducted across the digital health ecosystem, including on the technology architecture and governance, technical functionality, feasibility, usability and cost-effectiveness.

Digital Guide for Health

Provides global guidance for UNDP Country Offices on integrating digital solutions within health policy and programming.

Digital Health for Development Dashboard »

Promotes sharing of knowledge and experiences on UNDP-supported digital health solutions from around the world. See more

Digital X Solutions Catalogue »

Presents proven digital health solutions that can be used by countries for scale up. See more

Guidance on the Rights-Based and Ethical Use of Digital Technologies in HIV and Health Programmes »

Provides relevant ethical, human rights and technical considerations for countries adopting digital technologies for HIV and health. See more

HIV and Health Community of Practice (CoP)

Serves as a platform to connect health experts and practitioners, and to promote technical exchanges and collaboration.

Global Experts Roster

Maintains an up-to-date repository of technical experts who complement and supplement UNDP capacity on digital health.

iconAbout the Hub

The UNDP Digital Health for Development Hub serves as a one-stop shop with technical, advisory and partnership support for scaling up digital health solutions. The Hub’s primary aim is to assist countries to identify, adapt and scale up digital health solutions that advance health and well-being for all. The Hub exemplifies UNDP’s strategic focus on transformative drivers for sustainable development, in line with its Strategic Plan 2022–2025, Digital Strategy 2022–2025 and HIV and Health Strategy 2022–2025: Connecting the Dots – Towards a More Equitable, Healthier and Sustainable Future.

The Hub aims to strengthen health systems while supporting effective and inclusive governance for digital health and addressing the inequalities that fuel disease and pandemics. The Hub promotes digital platforms and services that have a people-centred design, which incorporate inclusive and gender-sensitive approaches and safeguard the protection of human rights. The Hub fosters knowledge exchange, tracks emerging trends, and shares good practices and proven solutions.

Drawing from UNDP implementation experience in delivering digital health solutions across countries, the Hub delivers technical and advisory support on various aspects of digital health. The focus is on country-led initiatives, including systems architecture and infrastructure, and the application and use of technology, aligned to World Health Organization (WHO) norms, standards, strategies and guidance. The Hub provides expertise on data governance and mainstreaming digital into national health policies and programmes, from a public health and human rights perspective. Digital solutions curated by the Hub are evidence- and rights-based, and adapted for diverse contexts.

The Hub assists UNDP Country Offices in identifying and implementing digital health solutions across a range of programme areas, including communicable and non-communicable disease control, procurement and supply chain management, health information systems, health care waste management, climate-resilient health systems, and pandemic preparedness and response.

In digital health, UNDP focuses on strengthening policies, capacities and institutions. The Hub promotes digital leadership among policymakers and public institutions, strengthens digital literacy of health and community workers and improves accountability, efficiency and transparency.

Leveraging the experience gained in implementation of digital health solutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the Hub has a focus on solutions customized for low-resource settings. It draws from the UNDP Digital X Solution Catalogue, which has a curated set of pre-vetted digital health solutions.

The Hub manages a roster of digital health experts, who can be deployed to support Country Offices and partners. These experts include in-house UNDP personnel and external consultants, specialized in a range of digital health areas.

In line with the UNDP Knowledge Strategy, the Hub supports learning on digital health, and collates, analyses and disseminates knowledge on UNDP digital health work across its network of Country Offices, regional hubs and global teams. The Hub develops knowledge products, such as guidelines, toolkits and good practices, and disseminates them across UNDP internal and external networks.

The promotion and protection of human rights is core to the Hub’s mission. In supporting countries to develop, scale and implement digital solutions, the Hub promotes inclusion and trust. This includes providing guidance on issues of data privacy and consent. The Hub leverages UNDP’s thought leadership on ethical and rights-based application of digital technology in health, which promotes the inclusion of women, key populations and vulnerable groups.

The Hub catalyses South-South cooperation across UNDP Country Offices for peer learning and mentorship on digital health. For example, UNDP has supported the implementation of digital platforms for routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccination programmes in India. Through South-South approaches, UNDP has facilitated the transfer of this digital health knowledge and technical know-how between India and Indonesia, Malawi and Bhutan. Through such South-South exchange and collaboration, both Indonesia and Bhutan have implemented digital systems for COVID-19 vaccination and Malawi is working towards digitizing health facilities for the delivery of health commodities.

Guiding principles

UNDP's offer on digital health is aligned with the principles of its digital strategy 2022-2025

Place human rights at the centre
Promote digital platforms and services that have a people-centred design, protect human rights and meet health needs
Leave no one behind
Advocate for inclusive and gender-sensitive approaches to digital transformation to reduce inequity and the digital divide
Contribute to shared global frameworks
Ensure alignment with the Principles for Digital Development, the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Promote open digital standards and open data
Promote digital public goods for health that are based on open standards, open source, open data and interoperability
Strengthen local digital ecosystems
Develop solutions with local leaders, companies and innovators that reflect local diversity and knowledge
Leverage strategic partnerships
Pursue partnerships with governments, communities of developers, academia, donors, private sector and UN agencies on digital solutions in health

iconContext

Digital technologies are critical to achieving progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3 on healthy lives and well-being for all, and the pledge to leave no one behind. Evidence shows that the digital determinants of health can influence equity in health and well-being.

With rapid digital transformation, over 90 percent of the global population have 2G mobile coverage but the majority have low levels of information and communication technology (ICT) skills. This exacerbates the digital divide. Achieving universal connectivity remains a challenge, with an estimated 2.7 billion people still not having access to the internet.

“Doctor For Everyone” bridges the gap between patients and doctors in remote areas of Viet Nam

At the same time, the digital health landscape is evolving rapidly. In transforming health care delivery, improving health and development outcomes, and advancing health equity, digital health has immense potential for achieving universal health coverage, and pandemic preparedness and response.

Digital health solutions encompass a wide range of technologies and applications. These range from electronic health records and digital payments for the health workforce, to telemedicine and artificial intelligence (AI). AI can be deployed in many ways, from its use in diagnosis and screening, to the discovery of new molecules for medicines. These advances have the potential to significantly enhance health and well-being and equity, with significant opportunities for advancing human development.

The Government of Rwanda and UNDP use disinfecting robots to fight the spread of COVID-19 and reduce hospital acquired infections

Digital health also presents challenges and complexities. Privacy, data security and non-discrimination are critical. The collection and utilization of personal health information requires robust human rights safeguards. Existing disparities, whether in gender and other social norms, or in access to internet literacy and technological infrastructure, can hinder equitable access to digital health services. The technology and algorithms used for developing digital health solutions need to be open and transparent. They should be developed in consultation with key stakeholders, and address prevailing inequalities and inherent biases.

iconPartnerships

Partnerships and collaboration are at the core of the Hub’s work on digital health.

The Hub supports the implementation of the WHO Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2025. As part of the WHO-managed Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH), UNDP will support countries to develop national digital health strategies, strengthen standards-based interoperable digital systems, and facilitate the use of digital public goods in health.

The Hub also collaborates closely with United Nations partners and multilateral institutions, including through the SDG 3 Global Action Plan on Healthy Lives and Well-Being for All. UNDP’s close partnerships with UNICEF, the Global Fund, Gavi, the Access and Delivery Partnership, Digital Square, the Digital Health Centre of Excellence and governments are crucial to its support to LMICs on digital health for development. The Hub also partners with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on scaling up evidence- and rights-based digital health solutions for HIV.

Within UNDP, the Hub partners with the UNDP Chief Digital Office, the Accelerator Labs and the Global Policy Network to leverage capacities and synergies.