WCC NEWS: Digital health: What is possible? Who will benefit?

panel discussion on 19 May, presented by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with Transform Health, will explore “Digital Health: What is possible? Who will benefit?”  24 February 2020, Jerusalem: Omran Najy administers Radiotherapy treatment at Augusta Victoria Hospital. Photo: Albin Hillert/LWF 08 May 2026 Speakers and participants will address crucial questions, including: Will digital healthcare technology bridge gaps in healthcare coverage—or deepen divides? Will it empower communities to new levels of wellness or leave the most vulnerable even further behind?  In 2015, UN member states pledged, as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to work together to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. Despite some progress in working towards this goal, in 2023 there were still over 500 million people in our world without any access to basic essential health services, including reliable health information; access to any healthcare worker; or access to basic, safe, effective, and affordable medications, vaccines, and diagnostic technology. Because many of these 500 million people who lack any access to even basic health care services live in locales with some access to the internet, digital healthcare technologies offer unique opportunities to enhance the quality and coverage of health services globally. Transform Health is a global coalition of 230 organisations – across 60 countries - dedicated to achieving universal health coverage by 2030 by harnessing digital technology and the use of data. It brings partners and networks together to shape policy agendas, influence decision-makers, develop tools, and provide technical support for governments and others to ensure an equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and rights-based digital health transformation. The webinar will explore the possibilities and challenges of digital health care technology and delivery, including specific examples from India and in Kenya. Panelists will include: Kirsten Mathieson, deputy director and policy lead at Transform Health Dr Anuradha Rose, chair of the Department of Bioethics at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India Rev. Jackline Makena Mutuma, an ordained minister of the Methodist church of Kenya and lecturer at St Paul’s University in Limuru, Kenya, and vice-moderator of the WCC  Faith and Order Commission.  Register now to be part of this urgent discussion and help shape the future of equitable healthcare. See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland