Recognizing the need to support Member States in moving beyond technological experimentation toward responsible, evidence-driven deployment, WHO and JHPIEGO, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, signed a Project Collaboration Agreement to build the evidence and guidance needed for digital health and AI adoption across the WHO South-East Asia Region. As countries advance their national digital health strategies and integrate AI-enabled tools, this collaboration addresses the growing need for structured technical guidance and evidence synthesis to support real-world deployment of these technologies in health systems.
Jhpiego is a global health organization with a mission to improve access to quality health care for underserved populations in low- and middle-income countries. With over 50 years of experience strengthening health systems across more than 35 countries, Jhpiego has a significant and longstanding presence in the WHO South-East Asia Region.
The objectives of the collaboration between WHO and JHPIEGO are to:
- Synthesize Evidence and Strengthen Knowledge Generation through
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of digital health and AI interventions
- Evidence synthesis on emerging digital health technologies
- Development of policy-relevant evidence briefs
- Develop and Strengthen Technical Guidance through
- Technical guidance documents on digital health and AI deployment
- Operational frameworks for integrating AI-enabled tools into health systems
- Best practice guidance for responsible adoption
- Build Implementation Science and Evaluation through
- Operational research evaluating digital and AI deployments
- Development of evaluation frameworks for digital health interventions
- Documentation of lessons from country implementation experiences
- Strengthen Policy Translation and Strategic Guidance through
- Translation of technical evidence into policy guidance
- Technical advisory support to ministries of health
- Development of national roadmaps for digital health and AI adoption