Strengthened country capacity in data and innovation

The Secretariat will support countries to: develop a costed roadmap for digital health transformation through the digital implementation and investment guide process, including the development of a standards-based interoperability environment. Establish competency-based standards for training a health workforce; foster health system and programme innovation through government-led hubs that encourage quality improvement, problem-solving and scale-up of proven solutions; enhance technical capacity for health research, priority-setting, leading research initiatives, and generating, translating and using evidence and data; strengthen ethical standards and oversight mechanisms that integrate research ethics into health systems, with a focus on better preparedness and response to public health emergencies (such as the COVID-19 pandemic); develop and implement strategies for a systematic integration of ethics analyses in public health decision-making processes, including during public health emergencies; establish the rapid evidence response systems to address country?s needs and priority policy questions using the best available evidence; advance open access to information and life-saving tools, including by ensuring that low- and middle-income countries have greater open access to digital resources and by seeking to refine key databases, leveraging resources such as global and regional databases; and institutionalize evidence-informed policy-making by supporting and establishing evidence support units for health policy and planning; and establishment of the integrated evidence ecosystem mechanisms through a multiconcept approach in which different work streams (including knowledge translation, national guideline programmes, health technology assessments). In producing technical products on norms/standard, data and research, the Secretariat will: develop a global strategy on health innovation, including a consensus nomenclature, scale-up framework and logic model for health system strengthening through innovation; undertake a second digital health guidelines development process to examine the strength of evidence around new digital health interventions, including artificial intelligence and chatbots for behaviour change and considering issues of inclusion, equity and accessibility; develop guidance on the use of chatbots, social media and virtual humans, among other technologies to disseminate trusted WHO technical content globally; strengthen guidance on governance and policies around digital health and artificial intelligence to maintain quality of content, security and continuity of care as well as accountability and protection of important rights (for example, privacy); cultivate and develop regional hubs of digital health excellence, including increased and expanded partnerships with academic collaborating centres to strengthen the evidence base around digital interventions as well as civil society and other patient-led organizations who play a crucial role in the development, design and delivery of WHO norms and standards; establish regional and national programmes for the adaptation of the WHO guidelines and technical products (norms and standards, if applicable) in response to regional and country needs and priorities; develop guides for national health research system and governance through establishment and strengthening of national programmes for delivery in response to country needs; and develop the tools and guidance to enhance the use of evidence and data for policy-making and implementation for impact.