WHA79 Side Event: Promoting Human Rights in Digital Health and AI Strategies: National and Global Perspectives

Artificial intelligence and digital technologies are rapidly changing healthcare and the health information ecosystem and are redefining and reshaping the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

In 2026, the WHO will launch consultations to inform its next Global Strategy on Digital Health 2028-2033, while countries are also developing new national strategies and policies on digital technologies for health. These must consider the exciting potential of AI and new technologies for health, as well as prepare for coming risks and harms, and ensure accountability. To achieve this, strategies and policies must centre local knowledge and voices, driving a more equitable approach to global health.

This side event sets the scene for meaningful collaboration to protect human rights in the digital age. We will bring together experts from global health and human rights spaces to share insights on how we can work together to prevent and respond to digital harms, both at a global and national scale through equitably designed digital health strategies and policies. In addition, we will hear directly from young people engaged in DHRP on their perspectives on the future of digital health rights.

Following the event, all guests are warmly invited to join the hosts for a networking apero from 3:30pm-4:30pm CEST

Please register and disseminate this invitation with others who may be interested!

Date: Wednesday 20th May 2026

Time: 2:00-3:30pm CEST (Networking and refreshments from 3:30-4:30pm CEST)

PLACE: ImpactHub (Rue Fendt 1, 1201 Genève, Switzerland) and online

Spanish and Vietnamese interpretation will be available online through the zoom platform.

REGISTER: Link

PLEASE NOTE: Seats are limited and offered on a first-come-first-serve basis, so please register by the 15th May 2026 for in-person attendance.

OUR SPEAKERS:

Aarushi Gupta

Aarushi Gupta is the Senior Research Manager at Digital Futures Lab, an India-based research studio working on issues at the intersection of AI and society. Her work focuses on the what, why, and how of AI tools deployed in critical social sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and education, looking closely at the risks and trade-offs of deploying generative AI in low-resource contexts.

Alistair Shaw

Alistair is a medical scientist, focusing his career on promoting and protecting the right to health. He is currently based in Geneva, working as the human rights advisor at the Global Fund. His work focuses on supporting country-led efforts to reduce human rights-related barriers to health services for populations disproportionality impacted by HIV, TB, malaria. Among other roles before joining the Global Fund, Alistair worked for CARE in Thailand and the Australian Department of Health in Canberra, both focused designing, implementing and evaluating interventions to improve population health. He also has an ongoing teaching role at the University of Sydney, which includes discussions on the role of technology in tackling contemporary global health challenges. Alistair holds degrees in Medical Science, International Studies and International Public Health.

Maria Mache Malomalo

Maria Mache Malomalo is a Pan-African feminist and passionate advocate for participatory action research and the decolonisation of knowledge production, translation, and dissemination. She currently serves as the Senior International Research Manager at Restless Development, where she champions youth-led research and leadership, working to shift power away from traditional knowledge centres towards young people and historically excluded communities.

In her role, Maria has led and supported a wide range of research initiatives across multiple countries and thematic areas, including digital rights, climate justice, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), feminist foreign policy, official development assistance (ODA), democracy, education, and livelihoods. Maria is also the founder of Mwana Pwo, Angola’s first NGO entirely dedicated to adolescent and youth SRHR and continues to play a vital role in regional and global feminist movements. She serves as a volunteer adviser to the Urgent Action Fund-Africa, is a member of FEMNET (the African Women’s Development and Communication Network), and is the chairperson of the Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE) in Zimbabwe.

She is also a 2018 alumna of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

Ulla Jasper

Ulla Jasper is the Policy Lead at Fondation Botnar. She holds a PhD in Political Science and an MAS in Public Health. Before joining Fondation Botnar, she worked as a researcher in Security Studies. Ulla is passionate about politics and has a deep interest in all things political, from the local to the global level. At Fondation Botnar, she is responsible for managing policy work and for coordinating external relations and partnerships.