I. Launch of the 3rd Cohort of the Ambassador Program: We commenced the third Cohort of the YO.DH Ambassador Program on 9th November 2024. The cohort volunteers consist of a diverse group of professionals from various organizations and geographies. The volunteers will collaborate closely with the Secretariat and Core Committee members to gain hands-on experience running the community while developing a wide range of skills and competencies.
Are you interested in volunteering for the Ambassador Program? Apply here. (Kindly note all applications are reviewed on a three-month basis)
Image 1: YO.DH Ambassador Program Cohort 3
II. YO.DH Presence at various events and meets:
On 9th October, 20204, YO.DH was invited as a panelist at the #DPGDialogues2024 event organized by Code for GovTech (C4GT) for a session on 'Health Systems with DPGs & DPI'. Our program lead
Pallavi Jain
spoke about the importance of multistakeholder communities like YO.DH which bring together all the myriad players within the digital health ecosystem. She emphasized how such communities enable cross-learning and communication among these individual players (providers, healthcare professionals, innovators, researchers, policy-makers, etc.) to bridge knowledge gaps and drive the development of informed solutions.
The YO.DH Secretariat attended an in-person meeting with the
DTH-Lab Team
and their research fellows at the Koita Centre for Digital Health at Ashoka University (KCDH-A). The team attended the fellows' presentations on their ongoing research on Youth and the Digital Health Ecosystem in India and interacted with the Ashoka Health Research Club members. The day witnessed interesting discussions on youth-centric digital health systems, resulting in a highly productive exchange of ideas and future possibilities.
Image 2 & 3: (From top left to right) YO.DH at DPG Dialogues 2024. Image 4: YO.DH, DTH Lab, and other invitees at KDCH-A.
AI Implementation in Healthcare: The Conundrum of Data Privacy by the DPDP Act
The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023 sets vital regulations for data management. To align with these requirements, healthcare institutions and companies developing AI-driven tools must adopt responsible data-handling practices, especially as the healthcare sector accelerates its digitization and AI-based innovation efforts.
Some key facets the Act takes into consideration include:
Consent and Transparency: Patients must be informed about their data use, with consent management systems integrated into AI workflows.
Data Minimization: Collect only necessary data for specific, lawful purposes.
Security and Breach Notification: Protect sensitive data through encryption and report breaches promptly.
Patient Rights: Enable patients the ability to access, correct, or delete their data, with transparency in AI decision-making.
Cross-Border Data: Regulate international data transfers.
Figure 1: Generating DPDP-compliant health data for AI systems. Figure designed by the author.
While compliance presents challenges like cost and data anonymization, it builds trust, enhances security, and aligns with global standards. By embracing these safeguards, AI can drive innovation responsibly in healthcare for India and Beyond.
Read the full article to know how the DPDP Act will regulate AI Health Systems exclusively on the YO.DH Website.
Each of the six episodes featured a thematic expert interviewed by a young expert, addressing pivotal questions centered around achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). While the conversations delved deeply into the theme, they also explored the leadership journeys of the speakers, their visions for the future, and the role of youth in shaping the way forward.
The episode featured
Nekesa J. Were
-Director of Community at Medic and Prince Bonney from Curious Minds Ghana. Their dialogue revolved around how a digitally enabled workforce can catalyze digital transformation and help achieve Universal health coverage. Nekessa stressed the importance of a bottom-up approach, facilitating the creation of a digitally enabled workforce and aligning investments with the evolving healthcare needs.
Heidi Good
, Project Lead- DPI for Climate and Health, Digital Square at PATH and Michael Kakande from Resilient 40 held some very interesting conversations on leveraging digital health tools against the backdrop of climate-induced emergencies.
Priya Vora
- CEO of Digital Impact Alliance and Sarah Parwez from the Youth Ownership of Digital Health explored how Digital Public Goods (DPGs) can enable systemic change to transform health systems and achieve Universal Health Coverage. Priya shared insights from her experience working on population-scale digital initiatives, discussing key considerations for measuring impact and the importance of data minimalization.
Sean Blaschke
- Senior Health Specialist and Unit Chief (OIC) at UNICEF and Pallavi Jain from the Youth Ownership of Digital Health examined how digital health enables universal health coverage. Sean shared valuable lessons from his extensive work on digital health initiatives across Africa, emphasizing that the pillars of equity, interconnectedness, people-centeredness, and the youth need to be kept at the core of this transformation.
Pape Amadou Gaye
- Founding President of Baobab Institute for Health Development and Caroline Knop from DTH Labs embarked on a very pertinent discourse surrounding digital health from a decolonist and inclusive perspective. Pape reiterated the importance of localization to bring about a paradigm shift, and digital as a means to propel equitable, decolonized health systems.
Image 3: Pictured (from left to right): Caroline Knop, Isaac Ngugi, Michael Kakande and Prince Bonney
Caroline Knop
, Germany: Caroline was a Regional Youth Champion of the Digital Transformation for Health Labs (
DTH-Lab Team
)in 2023/2024, representing Europe and North America. She is a medical student at Charité Berlin, passionate about the digital health transformation of health. She served as National Public Health Officer of the German Medical Students Association, as delegate of the International Federation of Medical Student's Associations to the 76th World Health Assembly, and as Co-Head of the Youth Side Program at the World Health Summit. Knop is a researcher in the Global Digital Last Mile Health Lab at the Charité Center for Global Health and worked for SATMED, an open-access e-health platform providing services to underserved areas in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
Isaac Ngugi
, Kenya: Isaac is the Community Lead at the CUEA Innovation Hub, where he empowers students to secure investments and funding. With a rich background as the Data Science Lead at iHub, he launched the “Introduction to Data Science Series" to data science accessible to beginners. He also founded the “Health Data Science” community to foster a supportive environment for healthcare professionals transitioning into tech. Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Isaac's dedication to optimizing health economics aims to ensure equitable healthcare opportunities, particularly across Africa. His academic journey includes significant coursework in Data Science at Moringa School and the Open Data Science Lab at World Quant University, USA.
Michael Kakande
, Uganda: Michael is a certified climate reality leader, environmentalist, social and climate justice activist, and an impact maker as selected by the COP presidency and the UNFCCC High-level champions team. He is the founder and Chairperson of Resilient40- an African climate action network spread across 30 African countries building toward climate-resilient communities across the continent. He is very passionate about digital health as a driver for climate resilience.
Prince Kwesi Bonney
, Ghana: Prince is a dynamic youth leader and changemaker with over 8 years of experience advocating for children’s, youth’s, and women’s rights, climate action, SRHR, and digital health. As Finance and Operations Manager at Curious Minds Ghana, he has led initiatives such as the UNICEF-funded Youth Public and Policy Campaign to End Child Marriage, and the Transform Health-funded My Data, Our Health campaign. He has also led impactful projects, including Digital Health Week discussions, youth training on ending harmful practices, and community outreaches that have elevated the voices of over 5,000 young people. A strong advocate for health data governance, he integrates digital tools and social media in advancing inclusive healthcare systems. Prince's work is a testament to his commitment to empowering young people and fostering meaningful participation in shaping a healthier, equitable future.
Join our growing community of vibrant, young digital health professionals today.
Vice President at SG Technologies
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