Strengthening Digital Health Capacities Through Blended Learning
Many low- and middle-income countries face major challenges in managing digital health systems due to fragmented platforms, overlapping applications, and increasing demand for reliable health data. To address these challenges, strong leadership, proper governance, and long-term national planning are essential, not just new technology.
To support countries in building stronger digital health systems, the WHO Academy, in collaboration with the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), launched a 12-week blended learning course titled “Digital Health: Planning for National Systems.” The programme brought together digital health professionals from French-speaking countries across Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region to strengthen national digital health strategies and leadership skills.
The course focused on helping countries move from fragmented digital tools to integrated national systems. Participants received both technical knowledge and strategic guidance to improve planning, governance, and implementation of digital health systems. The training programme achieved a high satisfaction rate and helped participants better understand how to build sustainable and interoperable digital health platforms.
The programme included self-paced learning sessions, live discussions, group work, and a final project where participants applied what they learned to real national health priorities. Topics covered included digital transformation, national strategy development, governance, enterprise architecture, costing, procurement, digital financial services, and future digital health trends.
Participants from different countries shared common challenges, such as managing multiple separate systems for diseases like tuberculosis, HIV, vaccination, and malaria. The training helped them understand the importance of integrated systems, stakeholder involvement, and structured planning for long-term success.
The programme also helped participants identify gaps in their national digital health projects and improve planning before implementation. Many participants began applying their new knowledge to projects such as telemedicine services, unique patient identification systems, and real-time health data platforms.
Overall, the blended learning programme helped countries strengthen leadership, improve strategic planning, and build more sustainable digital health systems. WHO plans to expand this programme further to help more countries develop strong digital health systems and improve healthcare services through better data and technology management.
