Resources

Youth Ownership of Digital Health (YO.DH) is a volunteer-led community for digital health professionals aged 35 and under, created to build leadership capacity, foster peer networks, and create a platform for knowledge exchange. The initiative rests on three key pillars: community engagement, capacity-building, and networking, aimed at nurturing young, well-informed, and responsible digital health leaders.YO.DH was launched in July 2023, with support from the Gates Foundation, and in partnership with International Innovation Corps, Digital Square, and WomenLift Health. Since then, YO.DH has grown into a thriving, self-sustaining community of over 1,000 members, representing 44 countries and 170 cities.The community prides itself on its gender-inclusive approach, with women constituting 51% of its membership. Members hail from diverse sectors, including civil society organizations, consulting firms, start-ups, non-profits, and government bodies. The community operates based on the principles of Communities of Practice, fostering collaboration, shared learning, and ownership among its members. Its democratic structure ensures broad participation and leadership development, facilitated by a Secretariat, a 19-member core committee comprising members from India and Africa, and rolling cohorts of ambassadors or volunteers serving as champions for youth engagement in digital health.YO.DH reflects a bold shift toward decentralized, peer-driven leadership that values equity, collaboration, and shared ownership. Looking ahead, YO.DH envisions itself as the go-to global platform for young digital health professionals—connecting, creating, and collaborating across borders.Find out more about the project here: https://www.yodh.info/

Effective cold chain equipment (CCE) is the backbone of successful vaccine delivery, but its seamless operation relies on a complex web of “behind-the-scenes” activities. This graphic, produced in collaboration between PATH, JSI, and Village Reach, highlights several crucial activities that are currently being implemented to contribute to robust CCE maintenance systems in multiple countries, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. While not exhaustive, the activities presented here aim to inspire and inform other countries as we collectively strive to strengthen CCE maintenance globally, ultimately ensuring that lifesaving vaccines reach every person in need.

Regional manufacturing for timely, affordable, and quality-assured diagnostics across the continentAfrica carries nearly a quarter of the global disease burden yet, remains overwhelmingly dependent on imports for essential health products. Today, 95 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients, 70 percent of medicines, and almost all diagnostics are sourced outside the continent. This dependency drives up costs, slows access, and leaves countries at risk of global supply chain disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the weaknesses in Africa’s health supply chains.The gap is especially acute in diagnostics. Despite Africa accounting for the highest burden of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV, most diagnostic tools used to detect these conditions are produced elsewhere. Limited regional manufacturing undermines timely access and constrains Africa’s ability to control and ultimately eliminate these diseases.PATH, supported by Unitaid and a coalition of African and global partners, has launched the Manufacturing to Accelerate Diagnostic Excellence (MADE) in Africa project to address this imbalance. Over the next four years, MADE will work to strengthen and expand Africa’s diagnostic manufacturing ecosystem by:Providing technical expertise to align production with international quality standards.Developing analyses and strategies for climate friendly diagnostics production.Increasing access to financing and investment for African manufacturers.Supporting an existing R&D ecosystem in Africa for diagnostics that will thrive long after the MADE project ends.Driving market-shaping strategies to secure sustainable demand and scale production.By embedding high-quality, affordable diagnostics into regional supply chains, MADE will help meet everyday health needs, strengthen health systems, and build a resilient manufacturing base that can rapidly pivot to produce critical tools during future health emergencies.Ultimately, MADE is about ensuring Africa can rely on its own innovation and capacity to protect the health of its people, independently, affordably, and sustainably.

The Digital Innovation in Pandemic Control (DIPC) project (2022–2025)—a partnership between Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Digital Square at PATH—has worked closely with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to strengthen Ghana’s digital immunization ecosystem. Recognizing the challenges of fragmented, non-interoperable systems, the DIPC project team and GHS conducted a comprehensive mapping of digital tools supporting immunization, identifying key gaps and priorities for national scale-up.DIPC project pillars in Ghana:Enhancing the DHIS2 E-Tracker’s Child Health Module: The project, led by GHS, Digital Square at PATH, and HISP-Ghana, upgraded the Child Health Module to serve as Ghana’s national electronic immunization registry for all children under five. New features include tracking of routine vaccinations and integrated child growth monitoring alongside immunization workflows to support integrated child health, improved vaccine stock management, and adverse event reporting. A phased rollout led by GHS is underway across eight regions, targeting 3,700 facilities and an estimated 300,000 clients.Building health worker capacity: The DIPC project facilitated national, regional, and facility-level training to ensure effective use of the enhanced E-Tracker Child Health Module. Over 1,400 health workers—including Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) staff, regional and district officers, and nurses—have been trained, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and local ownership.Supporting interoperability: The project also developed detailed requirements for an interoperability layer (IOL) that can be used by GHS to evaluate candidate software solutions, laying the groundwork for seamless data exchange between digital health systems. This work aligns with Ghana’s digital health strategy and supports more efficient, data-driven immunization services.Advancing technical readiness for TB data verification: In 2025, the DIPC project team launched a proof of concept to show how Ghana could securely share tuberculosis (TB) health data using international standards. GHS, Digital Square at PATH, and HISP-Ghana partnered to use Ghana’s DHIS2 E-Tracker system to create a digital summary of a patient’s TB information. This digital summary, called an International Patient Summary (IPS), is linked to a QR code. The DIPC project team tested this innovation in a secure demo environment to mimic real-world conditions. This innovation showcases how health workers will be able to scan the QR code and access the patient’s TB information even when the patient moves to different health facilities, thereby providing more seamless TB care. Digital Square at PATH also helped Ghana begin the process of joining the WHO’s Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN), which will allow the country to verify and share health data across borders.Key results to date:Facilities using new/enhanced solutions: 3 (with phased expansion ongoing)Registered users: 50Registered clients: 3,660Vaccinations recorded: 22,330Training sessions held: 49, with 1,487 people trained (483 women, 704 men)Demonstrated improvements: The enhanced CHM has reduced manual data entry errors, improved record-keeping, and enabled real-time tracking of immunization schedules.Broader impact:The DIPC project’s work in Ghana is setting a model for sustainable, interoperable digital health systems that can adapt to evolving health needs and future pandemics. The addition of TB-specific IPS capabilities positions Ghana as a technical leader in global health data exchange and verification. By aligning with WHO standards and engaging partners such as GHS, HISP-Ghana, and GIZ, the project ensures long-term scalability and sets the stage for secure cross-border data sharing. The collaborative, standards-based approach strengthens Ghana’s digital health infrastructure and empowers health workers and patients alike to benefit from more efficient, secure, and inclusive care delivery.

The Digital Innovation in Pandemic Control (DIPC) project (2022–2025)—a partnership between Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Digital Square at PATH—has worked closely with the Malawi Ministry of Health (MOH), including the Digital Health Division (DHD) and Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), to strengthen Malawi’s digital immunization ecosystem. Recognizing the challenges of fragmented, non-interoperable systems, the DIPC team and MOH conducted a comprehensive ecosystem mapping of digital tools supporting immunization, identifying key gaps and priorities for national scale-up.DIPC Project Pillars in MalawiLocalizing the Digital Adaptation Kit for Immunization (DAK)The project localized the WHO’s Digital Adaptation Kit for Immunizations for Malawi, providing standardized workflows and data elements to guide digital immunization systems. The DAK includes:Core workflows for awareness generation, service delivery, care documentation, vaccine inventory management, and monitoring & evaluation.Detailed user personas and scenarios tailored to Malawi’s health system.Functional and non-functional requirements to support system design and implementation.Developing and Deploying the MaHIS Electronic Immunization (EIS)The DIPC project team partnered with MOH to develop and deploy a new electronic immunization registry (EIR) module within the Malawi Healthcare Information System (MaHIS). The EIR supports:Digital record keeping of all routine immunizations in both online real-time and offline mode.Vaccine inventory control at facilities.Improved dashboards and reporting. The DIPC project rolled out the EIS in Mchinji, Ntcheu, and Salima districts across 46 facilities, targeting 70,000 clients.Strengthening Health Worker CapacityTo ensure sustainability, the DIPC project supported:Two training of trainers sessions for senior health staff.48 facility-level trainings reaching 1,204 health workers, including Disease Control Surveillance Assistants (DCSAs), ICT Coordinators, and Statistical Clerks.Ongoing monitoring visits and refresher trainings to reinforce digital literacy and system use.Key resultsFacilities using new/enhanced solutions: 48Registered users: 1,233Registered clients: 38,810Vaccinations recorded: 215, 200Health workers trained: 1,221 (486 women, 664 men)The implementation of digital tools has significantly improved immunization workflows by reducing manual data entry errors, improving record-keeping, and enabling real-time tracking of immunization schedules.Broader ImpactThe DIPC project’s work in Malawi is setting a model for resilient, interoperable digital immunization systems that can adapt to evolving health needs and future pandemics. The collaborative approach—engaging MOH, GIZ, and local technical partners like Luke International and EGPAF—ensures alignment with national strategies and builds local capacity for long-term success.