Transform Health welcomes the Rio de Janeiro Declaration of the G20 Health Ministers, which recognises digital health as essential for advancing equitable access to quality healthcare. The statement recognises the potential of digital health solutions to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and as a driver of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The potential of digital transformation in health systems is immense, enhancing data-driven decision-making, improving care accessibility, and strengthening health systems. To realise these ambitions, we urge the G20 to take concrete actions to implement this agenda, building on our recommendations to the G20 earlier this year.
Digital Health Investment: We strongly support the G20’s call for tracking digital health investments to avoid duplication of monitoring obligations. This builds on our recent T20 policy brief and the collective efforts of the G20 Health Working Group and partners to ensure that investments in digital health are trackable and accountable (e.g. as discussed during the 2nd G20 health working group meeting and the “Multistakeholder Dialogue on National Digital Health Transformation” side event during Summit of the Future Action Days). In 2022, Transform Health published a conceptual framework on digital health investment which highlighted the challenges posed by the lack of information on financial resources and the need for action to address this, which is essential for quantifying funding gaps and prioritising investments.
G20 governments should champion and lead efforts to put this into action, including through the systematic collection of digital health investment data, including building consensus on how domestic and donor investments should be classified, using existing mechanisms like National Health Accounts, the OECD-DAC reporting system, and integrated into routine UHC monitoring.
By standardising the tracking and reporting of digital health investments, countries can better identify where funding is needed, advocate for necessary resources, ensure equitable allocation, ensure better funding coordination, and prioritise investments that deliver long-term health impact. Funding must also be directed to high-impact priorities to optimise scarce resources, towards UHC goals. To drive action towards more effective, equitable and accountable digital health investment, Transform Health and partners have co-created a Digital Health Investment Checklist – which will be launched on UHC Day 2024 – setting out strategic choices for funders of the digital health transformation (e.g. governments, donors, private sector) to ensure funding is aligned to national strategies, sustainable, person-centred, and delivers more equitable health outcomes and UHC.
Health Data Governance: The Declaration underscores the importance of ensuring robust data protection frameworks in building trust in digital health systems, while also recognising the importance of country alignment of legal and regulatory frameworks in ensuring data privacy and protection, and to support cross-border data exchange. This builds on commitments from governments to strengthen health data governance, as set out in the recently adopted Global Digital Compact. The G20 should champion efforts towards the development and endorsement of a global (and regional) health data governance framework, underpinned by equity and human rights based principles, through a World Health Assembly resolution and regional processes. This would help build consensus around a global standard for health data governance and provide a flexible framework that governments can use in help strengthen national approaches, while also supporting compatibility across countries.
Transform Health and partners have supported the development of a draft Model Law on Health Data Governance (a flexible framework), which has gone through extensive consultation, and could provide the foundation for a global framework. Government leadership is critical to take it forward for endorsement through a World Health Assembly resolution and regional mechanisms, and ultimately to implement it to strengthen national frameworks.
Responsible AI Governance: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significant potential to improve health services and outcomes. We welcome the G20’s commitment on responsible AI governance for health, calling for safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of AI systems in health. Aligning with the recent UNGA AI Resolution and Report of the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI, the G20 should implement global guidelines into national systems to ensure responsible AI development that enhances health equity and accountability. However, robust data governance is the bedrock of good AI Governance, and must therefore be prioritised as the foundation for more effective and equitable digital health transformation.
The G20 plays a crucial role in shaping the future of global health through digital transformation. Transform Health stands ready to collaborate with G20 leaders, member states and other stakeholders to move from commitment to action.