Digital health and information systems
Digitally enabled health systems drive results for children.
The digital transformation of health systems has the potential to revolutionize patient care and healthcare outcomes on a global scale. Strengthened capacity of the health workforce, the adoption of standards-based technologies, as well as the implementation of data-driven decision-making processes are key to transformation.
This comprehensive approach can directly enhance efficiency, accuracy and accessibility of health services, while also facilitating better communication and coordination among healthcare professionals.
Harnessing the power of data analytics, geospatial information and artificial intelligence can lead to more personalized treatments, reduced human error, early disease detection, and proactive interventions. This can ultimately improve the quality-of-care, patient outcomes and the efficiency of the health workforce. It can also lead to more equitable coverage and lower overall costs.
Timely, high-quality data can also expose inequities in health outcomes and help decision makers to identify children’s unmet needs. This information can be used to determine how and where to invest in health facilities, personnel, vaccines and other supplies, which is particularly crucial when responding to emergencies like disease outbreaks.
In many places, especially low-income countries and humanitarian settings, health sector digitalization is not systematically invested in. This can result in weakened and siloed systems, create new risks to child wellbeing and increase burdens on frontline health workers. In these instances, the children most in need are often left behind.
UNICEF envisions a world where the health and well-being of every child is improved through digitally enabled health systems. To this end, UNICEF is working with governments, donors and partners to improve the planning and implementation of digital health systems to accelerate primary health care.
UNICEF’s work to turn data into action
Timely and high-quality data, embedded in strong information systems, drive action for children. To accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, UNICEF helps countries improve the availability, quality and use of data.
Our assistance helps to make national health systems more efficient, inclusive and comprehensive. These systems manage vaccination data, civil registration and other vital statistics. This positively impacts maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.
UNICEF is also committed to enhancing global healthcare through digital and data innovations, with a focus on children and vulnerable people. Our Geospatial Health Solutions help us target high-risk areas, and our community engagement through the RapidPro platform research 68 countries with vital health information, especially targeting pregnant mothers and adolescent girls. We support governments in deploying electronic health records and telemedicine platforms, in line with our Global HealthConnekt initiative to connect every health worker worldwide by 2030.
Collaboration with partners like Gavi and the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) enables us to monitor immunization campaigns in real time and advance digital public goods. We also co-chair the digital health donor coordination group, coordinate COVID-19 vaccine deployment through the Digital Health Centre of Excellence (DICE), and support investments in supply chain digitalization.
Our comprehensive strategy leverages technology to improve healthcare accessibility, efficiency, and effectiveness. By interconnecting various initiatives and collaborations, we aim to make a lasting impact on global health, reaching more people, and ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital health transformation.
Resources
| Publisher | Title |
|---|---|
| UNICEF | UNICEF's Approach to Digital Health |
| UNICEF | Designing Digital Interventions for Lasting Impact |
| UNICEF | Guidance on the Use of Geospatial Data and Technologies in Immunization Programmes |
| UNICEF | UNICEF's Digital Health & Information Systems Annual Report 2022 |
| Digital Health Centre of Excellence | Geo-Enabled Microplanning Handbook |
| Digital Health Centre of Excellence | Stepwise Toolkit for Planning & Budgeting Interoperability of Digital Health Solutions |
| Digital Health Centre of Excellence | Digital Implementation Investment Guide |
| Digital Health Centre of Excellence | Digital Solutions for Vaccination Service Delivery |