The promotion of digital health by JICA
Digital health can be considered an effective means of helping achieve UHC.
JICA established “JICA DX Vision” to promote digital transformation (DX) for an inclusive and sustainable society where everyone can realize diverse opportunities and happiness by harnessing digital technology and data.
In the promotion of “JICA DX” which plans to digitalize all projects implemented in developing countries, JICA is pursuing innovative initiatives including digital health which is indispensable to achieving universal health coverage (UHC).
In the JICA Global Agenda "Health”, digital health is mentioned as a need to incorporate new technologies, know-how, and DX into JICA’s projects. For its promotion, JICA established the digital health network led by the Human Development Department, in January 2020, and promotes further utilization of digital health technology by collecting and analyzing information to introduce digital health and strengthen staff’s capacity to respond to it.
With the above background, we created JICA-Net multimedia-based learning material, “Digital health, to achieve Universal Health Coverage: UHC” (YouTube, external link), for those involved such as JICA staff and external partners including private companies, who are interested in the introduction and utilization of digital health in developing countries to know the implementation cases of digital health domestically and internationally, and the direction of JICA’s initiatives.
Through the material, we introduce the challenges to achieving UHC, the examples and possibilities of digital health which could contribute to solving issues in developing countries, and JICA’s strategy and perspective of digital health in the future.
The material explains in a simple way the possibilities of digital health and examples of its use domestically and internationally
Digital health applies ICT, Mobile, AI, and other digital technology as well as various types of data to assist decision-making by health professionals and patients, contributing to medical care, prevention, and better health.
Explaining digital health’s role and possibility in the achievement of UHC, the material introduces, as concrete examples utilizing digital health, Aizuwakamatsu city (Japan), where the public and private sectors collaborate and carry out digitalization, and three examples in developing countries where private companies take initiatives: prenatal checkup system using a smartphone App (Democratic Republic of the Congo), ophthalmic remote diagnosis system (Mongolia, and Cambodia), fighting malaria with drones (Sierra Leone).
As its population ages, Aizuwakamatsu city has introduced a communication app to reduce the burden on caregivers.
Regarding the overseas examples, it was difficult to conduct on-site interviews. Therefore, we used pictures and movies provided by local sites as well as online interviews to make viewers feel actual situations.
In creating the material, we intended to show various possibilities of digital health from a future-oriented view. Moreover, in addition to the international trend of digital health, we took up the advanced examples already practiced in a domestic municipality and developing countries, and included interviews with experts leading discussions in this field.
Regarding the overseas examples, it was difficult to conduct on-site interviews. Therefore, we used pictures and movies provided by local sites as well as online interviews to make viewers feel actual situations.
Furthermore, we devised a way for viewers who were not familiar with digital health to easily understand, for example, considering the order of composition and adding a detailed explanation to a difficult part of the content.
To expand the scene of utilizing digital health
The material is intended to be utilized mainly in the field related to the JICA Global Agenda “Health” and “Digital for Development”.
Especially, it is aimed at JICA staff and those involved in new or ongoing projects at the national or international level who are considering the introduction of digital health as a component of a technical cooperation project. We intend that it would be used not only in Knowledge Co-Creation Program (KCCP) for Group and Region-Focused Program and Country-Focused Program in the field of health but also in all scenes (each project, screening at an office, event, and seminar) where the introduction of digital health into JICA’s projects would be considered.
The material is also aimed at private companies which plan to expand in developing countries in the field of digital health. We emphasize on the cooperation and co-creation with external partners from the perspective of collective impact in the JICA Global Agenda and the cluster strategy of maternal and child health which was previously formulated. We expect that the material would be used by private companies which are interested in matching solutions in the field of healthcare, and maternal and child health in developing countries.
We hope that the material will be used widely and become a help for the achievement of UHC through the promotion of the utilization of digital health.
MATSUO Hidenori
JICA Human Development Department
*The Material(s) mainly applied
Digital health, to achieve Universal Health Coverage: UHC
- Promote the potential of using digital health to make healthcare services accessible for all people.
- Introduce the means of digital health (telemedicine, tele-training, technology for moving people and goods, data- and evidence-based decision making, and inclusive technology).
- Introduce the status of digital health in Japan with the case study of "Smart City Aizuwakamatsu".
- Explain the international trend of digital health visually.
- Introduce three case studies of digital health in developing countries.
- Discuss the potential of digital health from a future-oriented perspective by an expert in the field of global health.
- Visualize the future of UHC achieved by the spread of digital health, and demonstrate JICA's contribution to UHC through the use of digital health.
DX for development cooperation projects in developing countries is in progress, and especially in the field of healthcare, the use of digital health for innovative approaches is essential to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This material introduces examples and possibilities of the use of digital health to contribute to solving issues faced by developing countries toward achieving UHC, as well as JICA's digital health strategy, utilization, and future prospects.
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