Coronavirus infection rates are climbing exponentially around the world with over 440,000 confirmed cases and 20,000 deaths so far. Governments, donors, and health workers are scrambling to find digital health solutions they can use in COVID-19 response activities. While we desperately need innovative solutions now, we must be patient and: Avoid pilotitis that results in more failed ICT4D interventions Stop siloed systems development that...

The COVID Digital Response Workshop on March 12 brought together 300 digital development practitioners from governments, donors, and health systems in low- and middle-income countries to explore the challenges and opportunities for COVID-19 response. Subscribe now to get invited to future events. Over three hours, we explored the novel coronavirus impact on health care systems and where digital health solutions could improve resilience and reduce...

Global coronavirus infections now exceed 200,000 confirmed cases in 144 countries, with over 8,205 deaths from COVID-19, leading to international travel bans and almost 40 conference cancellations across the international development industry. Donors like USAID, DFID, World Bank, and Gates Foundation are asking, “What global digital health solutions are available for international COVID response that can be implemented by government health...

It’s been ten years since the first truly affordable smartphone was introduced and unleashed a transformation across the African continent. These days, over 40% of all Africans use smartphones, and the technology generates 8.6% of GDP in sub-Saharan Africa. But the tech transformation hasn’t stopped with telecommunications. The field of digital health has expanded, too. To kick off 2020, IntraHealth International’s digital health team examined...

National governments that want to achieve the health-related targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or universal health coverage (UHC) need a health workforce with the right size and skill mix to meet their populations’ health needs. But you can’t have a skilled health workforce without teachers and trainers who can prepare health workers for their specific roles in the health care system. Yet countries globally face...

This year’s technology buzzword is artificial intelligence (AI), which means you’ve already been asked how your organization can incorporate AI and machine learning in your health programming. You may already be using aspects of AI to augment and enhance, not replace, activities such as running natural language chatbots and utilizing pattern recognition satellite imagery. Yet, as AI is such a new technology, there are few, if any, resources...

Established digital health trends are already reshaping health care systems around the world in new and amazing ways. For example, the widespread adoption of mobile phones and the increasing usage of smartphones, combined with increasing Internet access and searchable online information services, have created what some call a doctor in every pocket. Even in rural Uganda, a patient can confirm her provider’s authenticity with a text message, and a...

We know that interoperability is key to improving the effectiveness and resilience of health information systems. As we've said before, it’s crucial to overcoming the fragmented and proprietary global health information systems we have today, and can allow governments and their stakeholders to make the most of their data, including extending, upgrading, and preserving it. Yet how do we move from that lofty goal to practical action? For us at...

Predictive analytics, rapid diagnostics, and portable, personal medical records promise a future where health systems are stronger and more efficient, and where anyone can live a longer, healthier, fuller life. But one of the prerequisites for this promised transformation is that health systems—whether they’re for diagnostics or patient records or lab results—are interoperable, meaning they can quickly and seamlessly exchange data using open...

Facebook announced in January that WhatsApp has more than 1.5 billion monthly active users—20% of the world’s population!—who send more than 60 billion messages every day. Of course, quickly messaging people via computing technology is not new. However, this communications medium could revolutionize the way we communicate with health workers and their clients. To give you a sense of WhatsApp’s reach and potential for improving global health: In...