The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has joined the Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH), a World Health Organization (WHO)-managed network working to strengthen digital health systems and ensure that the benefits of digital innovation reach everyone.
Through GIDH, IPPF will collaborate with governments, health organisations and partners to advance coordinated, country-led approaches to digital health, reduce duplication of efforts and support stronger, more accessible health systems.
Why this matters
Digital technologies have enormous potential to transform healthcare, but that transformation must be equitable, inclusive, and driven by the needs of countries and communities. Across many countries, governments are developing national digital health strategies, health information exchanges, interoperability standards, digital identity systems, telehealth frameworks, AI policies, and other digital infrastructure. These developments can create major opportunities for sexual and reproductive health services, but they can also raise important questions around privacy, confidentiality, equity, choice, and access.
Collaboration for lasting change
Our participation reflects our commitment to ensuring that advances in digital health contribute to more equitable, inclusive, and accessible healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health and rights. Through our participation, IPPF will work to ensure that these conversations reflect the realities and perspectives of civil society and SRHR providers, including the importance of privacy, rights, equity, inclusion, choice, and person-centred care.
Membership also creates opportunities for IPPF to learn from and engage with a wider network of digital health partners, share experiences from across the Federation, and strengthen connections between global digital health developments and what is happening within countries where our Member Associations operate.
This is part of IPPF’s broader digital health direction by not simply adopting new technologies, but helping ensure that digital transformation strengthens sustainable health systems, aligns with national strategies and infrastructure, supports interoperability, and advances sexual and reproductive health and rights.
This engagement is especially timely as WHO and its partners develop the next Global Strategy on Digital Health for 2028–2033. IPPF will continue working to bring SRHR and civil society perspectives into these and other global digital health discussions.
We look forward to working alongside GIDH members and partners to help build a future where digital health innovation advances health, rights and dignity for all.
Learn more about the Global Initiative on Digital Health: https://www.who.int/initiatives/global-initiative-on-digital-health
Want to discuss further about digital health at IPPF, including opportunities to collaborate? Please contact Luigi Nuñez (lnunez@ippf.org).
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Universal Health Coverage
