Reflections on the Launch of the DHRP “Paying the Costs of Connection” Report at WHA Side Event

In the margins of the 77th World Health Assembly on May 21 2025 in Geneva,  leaders from governments, multilateral agencies, civil society and academia convened for a pivotal hybrid event titled “Overcoming Barriers to Digital Health: Protecting Human Rights and Preventing Online Harm in the Digital Health Transformation.” The side event, co-hosted by the University of Warwick and STOPAIDS, marked the global launch of the Digital Health and Rights Project (DHRP)’s newest report: Paying the Costs of Connection.

This event generated a lot of momentum, with over 80 participants joining in person and over 100 online. The co-sponsorship from global institutions including WHO, UNDP, OHCHR and ministries of health from Brazil and Thailand, showcased an unprecedented commitment to centring human rights in digital health policy and practice.

Watch the full event recording here: Overcoming Barriers to Digital Health

Read the full DHRP Report here: Paying the Costs of Connection

The event opened with a framing panel that contextualised the rapid expansion of digital health systems globally and the urgent need to embed equity and rights in their design. Professor Meg Davis, Principal Investigator of DHRP, underscored the report’s relevance, while Ana Estela Haddad, Secretary of Information and Digital Health of Brazil, lauded the research as impressive in both quality and relevance.

From the UN human rights front, Dimiter Chalev, Chief of the Equality and Non-Discrimination Branch at OHCHR, offered a sobering reminder that the right to health increasingly depends on how technologies are designed, deployed and governed, emphasising that innovation must never come at the cost of agency or dignity.

The Paying the Costs of Connection report draws from community-led research across Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Vietnam and it shares insights into how marginalised young adults are paying the costs of connecting to health online.Alistair Shaw, Senior Programme Officer at the Global Fund, emphasised that where digital frameworks fail to consider accountability, transparency, privacy and consent, they can expose populations to significant harm. Building on this, Dr Alain Labrique, Director of Digital Health and Innovation at WHO, stressed the importance of enforceable governance, noting that there is little value in having guidance or policy without real power behind it: trust, he explained, is built when legislation is strong, equitable and enforceable.

A second panel explored pathways from research to implementation. Speakers unanimously called for:

• Policy reform and enforceable legislation to ensure safety, privacy and affordability of digital health.
• Intentional inclusion of marginalised communities in digital system design.
• Cross-sector advocacy, including stronger engagement with the private sector, especially technology platforms.
• Youth-led accountability, recognising young people as not just users but leaders in the digital space.

As Solomon Atsuvia from Ghana’s Community Advisory Team reminded us all,

“Without meaningful inclusion of communities, digital health systems will continue to leave the most affected behind.”

Looking Forward: Global Opportunities and Commitments

The event spotlighted upcoming milestones, including:

• The Global Initiative on Digital Health meeting (July 2025), described by WHO as “our collective initiative” to advance participatory, equity-centred governance.
• The next iteration of the Global Strategy on Digital Health (2028–2033), for which civil society engagement will be vital.
• The Global Fund’s upcoming digital framework consultation, expected later this year, where digital rights will feature more prominently.

UNDP’s Manish Pant eloquently summed up the stakes, noting that the digital transformation of health is not just about technology, but about people, rights and dignity. He emphasised that young people are not merely users of digital technologies, but leaders, advocates and change-makers.

As we continue to elevate lived experiences and center equity, we invite all stakeholders including governments, donors, technologists and activists, to join us in building a people-centred digital health future.

Building on this momentum, the event also marked the global launch of the #MakeITSafe Campaign,a youth-driven movement calling for digital health systems that protect, rather than endanger, the rights and well-being of users. Rooted in the findings of Paying the Costs of Connection, the campaign amplifies calls for safe, inclusive and accountable digital platforms, particularly for young people navigating health services in digital spaces. It seeks to influence policy and practice by centring the lived realities of those often left out of digital health governance while also inviting governments, platforms and civil society to co-create safer digital futures. You can read more about the campaign HERE.

If you are interested in finding out more about the DHRP please contact [email protected]