Group of panelists at WHA side event

Advocacy and Impact

Our vision: a world in which there is a progressive and human rights-based approach to digital technologies & AI in health

Drawing on four years of participatory action research with over 600 young adults in Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Vietnam, DHRP and youth and civil society leaders in our global network have helped to reshape the global digital health conversation. A key part of our approach is recognising the value of youth leadership and engagement, which has helped put the digital rights of diverse young people on the agenda of the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Human Rights Office, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the UN Development Programme, and countless other partners.

In 2025-26 we aim to:

  • CONNECT: Governments, UN human rights experts, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria take action to improve digital inclusion, particularly for young adults and marginalised communities.
  • PROTECT: Governments and UN agencies take action to better prevent, respond to and support redress for technology-facilitated abuse.
  • PARTICIPATE: Young adults and marginalised communities are ableto meaningfully participate in decision-making on digital governance. Valuing the critical role of youth leadership, this requires key stakeholders making space at the table, as well as supporting young people with digital literacy and empowerment training.

Policy tools from Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Vietnam:

Karisma, KELIN, NAP+ Ghana, Universidad de los Andes, and VNP+ use evidence generated collaboratively and work with Community Advisory Teams, with a focus on youth leadership and engagement, to develop national advocacy plans, which they lead in each country.

Link to follow

On gender and rights in digital health strategies

The Warwick team worked with WHO's Digital Health and Innovation Department and Gender, Equity and Rights Department to review national digital health strategies and identify gaps on gender, rights and inclusion. WHO is now leading a strategic initiative to address these gaps, in collaboration with DHRP.

On strengthening gender and human rights in digital health for donor agencies:

STOPAIDS worked with the Developed Country NGO delegation of the Global Fund to develop a report on how the Fund can better address human rights. Since then, the Fund has adapted their grant guidance to include digital rights, meaning that recipient countries should be able to access funding for digital rights work in future. Warwick also supported German development agency GIZ to develop guidance on gender-responsive digital health.

On human rights in the digital age

As a consortium, with leadership from Privacy International, we support the mandates of UN Special Rapporteurs and other special procedures, and consult across our consortium to make joint submissions to UN and other human rights mechanisms. These are based on international human rights standards and robust evidence.