SHARING STORIES, KNOWLEDGE, AND INSIGHTS

Furthering PATH’s leadership and partnership in the digital health ecosystem, PATH has joined the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) as a new member. PATH’s new membership follows participation from Digital Square at PATH in the DPGA’s community of practice on health, accompanied by co-authorship of a white paper with the DPGA to improve understanding of the relationship between DPGs and global goods for health.

Today, a cohort of learners, coaches, and trainers are coming together for the first time to create a new cadre of digital health leaders in Africa. Through Digital Square’s Digital Health Applied Leadership Program (DHALP), led by the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda, 40 participants are beginning this year-long learning program that will enhance their capacity to successfully lead and execute digital health programs.

Digital Square at PATH is pleased to announce that Digital Square’s Board has approved eight proposals for investment—as part of Notice F—to strengthen adaptable, replicable digital tools designed to work together seamlessly to improve health outcomes and help close the health equity gap around the world.

In 2020, COVID-19-related disruptions led to 23 million children missing out on essential vaccines, an increase of nearly 4 million from 2019. Since then, some childhood immunization systems have gradually regained ground, but in many countries, services have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, and disruptions intensify when new pandemic waves take hold.

A paradigm shift is underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Technological innovation is transforming the old health system model into a partnership between patients and professionals, aided and augmented by digitally enabled technologies and better data.

“A good ecosystem of choice provides choice where it’s important, but doesn’t overwhelm people with lots of small, nuanced choices. I often worry that in our current digital health ecosystem, we overwhelm stakeholders with small, nuanced choices and exclude them from the big choices. I’d like Digital Square to work to change that.”

Digital Square at PATH is pleased to announce a new collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) designed to accelerate digital transformation around the world to advance health equity. Through this effort, AWS will provide cloud computing credits to support the cohort of digital health global goods partners that will be awarded a total of $600K through Notice F—the full list of which Digital Square will announce in April. AWS’s support is part of a $40M global program it launched in late 2021 to enhance health and reduce inequities in healthcare.

When Ebola spread through Liberia in August 2014, health workers needed information—and they needed it fast. mHero saw exactly the same need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

mHero is a two-way, mobile phone-based communication system that connects ministries of health and frontline health workers. It was created in 2014 by IntraHealth International and UNICEF to support health-sector communication in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak.

Each quarter, Digital Square shines the spotlight on innovators in the global goods community. Anna Winters is the CEO of Akros, a cutting edge organization that establishes data-driven systems to improve the health and well-being of disadvantaged communities. Akros prides itself on ground-level knowledge of the service delivery systems where the organization works, and its ability to provide novel, lasting solutions implemented in developing regions.

As the United Nations agency responsible for international public health, The World Health Organization (WHO) connects countries, partners, and people to advocate for universal health care, monitor public health risks, coordinate responses to health emergencies, and promote health and well-being. A core function of WHO is the development of global guidelines to ensure appropriate use of evidence. WHO guidelines articulate and endorse rigorously tested recommendations for health interventions to be adopted within country programs. When applied correctly and consistently, guideline recommendations save lives and improve the health of individuals and populations.

This week and next, we are celebrating the role of digital technologies to advance health—with Digital Health Week from November 29th to December 3rd and the Global Digital Health Forum from December 6th-8th. Digital Health Week is a global week of action to celebrate, promote, and advocate for digital health and its critical role in providing health for all by 2030. The Global Digital Health Forum provides an opportunity for Digital Square and its partners to come together, share our work, and contribute to a thriving community of digital health practitioners.

Digital Square has updated its strategy for 2022 in draft form and welcomes any input and questions through December 10, 2021 via email to Vrunda Rathod (vrathod@path.org).

The Digital Square Strategy outlines the vision, theory of change, and role of the initiative to increase understanding of both why the Digital Square initiative exists and how Digital Square works.

Digital Square at PATH is pleased to announce its sixth Call for Applications (Notice F). Digital Square provides resources, advances technology, and fosters alignment to improve how countries and the global health community design, use, and pay for digital health tools and approaches. Through this funding, Digital Square collaborates with innovators to advance adaptable, replicable tools designed to work together seamlessly to improve health outcomes and close the health equity gap.

COVID-19 knows no boundaries across geographies. To support robust pandemic response, health data should flow just as seamlessly across communities and up to the national level—allowing for timely, informed decision-making and the use of reliable information that can enhance cooperation across borders.