The Digital Transformations for Health Lab (DTH-Lab) is a global consortium working to drive implementation of The Lancet and Financial Times Commission on Governing Health Futures 2030’s recommendations for value-based digital transformations for health co-created with young people. The DTH-Lab’s vision is that by 2030 digital transformations of health are led by Health for All values and enable digital first health systems to deliver equitable benefits for the health, well-being and safety of young people and their communities.
A unique feature of the Lab is its ability to convene young people to co-create solutions that shape their health futures. The Lab takes an inter-generational perspective when designing work with young people meaning their perspectives and health priorities are incorporated into the Lab’s goals and partnerships. The Lab has several entry points that young people lead from co-creating solutions to implementing policy recommendations. By bringing young people—including young health professionals—in low and middle-income countries plus vulnerable groups in high income countries together to co-design digital first health systems, the Lab is developing a blueprint for youth-centered DFHS and a toolkit to advance DHC.
The DTH-Lab is led by three core partners: Koita Centre for Digital Health at Ashoka University (KCDH-A) (India), DTH-Lab (Switzerland) and PharmAccess (Nigeria). As well as operating on a global level, it leverages its nodes in Africa, Asia and Europe to tailor activities to different national and regional contexts.
The Lab focuses on three main areas of work to realise their vision: 1) supporting digital health citizenship (DHC) and youth co-creation of digital first health systems (DFHS); 2) advancing value-driven governance of the digital transformations of health; and, 3) addressing the digital determinants of health (DDoH).
The Lab works at the global level with a particular focus on countries with large populations of young people which are predominantly situated in Africa and Asia. The DTH-Lab is bringing together academics and practitioners from different disciplines to develop a conceptual framework for the digital determinants of health to guide policy action and future research priorities.
To address critical evidence gaps, the DTH-Lab is partnering with organizations in India and Nigeria to study young people’s experiences of digital determinants in different contexts.
Overall, The DTH-Lab works closely with young people from a range of backgrounds and disciplines through partnerships with youth organizations including the IFMSA global and regional offices, WHO Youth Council and acting co-chair of working group on UHC (2023-2024), AI Future Lab (composed of the World Economic Forum global Shapers network), Yet4H, the WHO Global Health Workforce Network Youth Hub, Young Federation Public Health Association, IPSF global and regional offices, Youth Health Organisation, WHO EU Youth4Health network, and others through existing regional/country level networks of the Regional Youth Champions.
DTH-Lab is an organisation that strives for concerted efforts to ensure that digital technologies are harnessed in support of better health and well-being for all and the attainment of the SDGs. Joining the ECHAlliance network, allows DTH-Lab a strategic advantage in networking with global and regional stakeholders to promote its initiatives, expand its connections, and collaborate with innovators worldwide. By joining this global community , DTH-Lab can leverage best practices and lessons learned from a diverse array of stakeholders, enhancing its impact and furthering its commitment to drive digital transformations which are shaping all aspects of our lives, including health, with the focus on digital innovations that can help to improve young people’s health and well-being and achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through their application in health systems, public health promotion and prevention. ECHAlliance membership will empower DTH-Lab to amplify its reach, drive innovation, and achieve its goals on a global and regional scale.
