Commentary
A clear direction, a renewed identity
How can Fondation Botnar contribute to lasting change in young people’s lives?
DTH-Lab: Digital transformations for health
Initiative
DTH Lab puts young people at the centre of how digital technologies transform health and health systems.
The Digital Transformations for Health Lab (DTH-Lab) is a global consortium launched in 2023 to carry forward the recommendations of the Lancet and Financial Times Commission on Governing Health Futures 2030. It brings young people together with policymakers, researchers and technology companies to shape how digital transformations affect health and how digital health systems are designed and governed. Through research, policy innovation and co-creation, DTH-Lab works towards more inclusive, equitable and rights-based digital transformations for health.
- Partners
- Ashoka University and PharmAccess. It works with a diverse range of stakeholders from academia, intergovernmental bodies, donors, national governments, convenors, civil society organisations, and private sector organisations
- Working in
- Global
- Approach
- Research, policy innovation and co-creation with young people
- Focus
- Governance of digital health, centred on young people's health and wellbeing
- Launched
- 2023
Challenge
Digital transformation is changing health. Young people should help shape it.
Digital technologies are changing how people access healthcare, manage their health and experience the world around them. They can strengthen health systems, expand access and support prevention, but they can also create new risks and deepen existing inequalities. These changes particularly affect young people, who are growing up in increasingly digital environments. Ensuring that digital transformations serve the public interest requires strong governance - and meaningful participation by young people in shaping the systems and rules that affect their health.
In 2024, DTH-Lab helped lead the WHO Youth Declaration for Healthy and Inclusive Societies.
Approach
Shaping digital health with young people
DTH-Lab brings young people together with policymakers, technology companies and other stakeholders to drive change across four areas: digital-first health systems, digital and data governance, digital determinants of health, and digital citizenship for health. Young people participate through youth-led organisations, Regional Youth Champions and a Research Fellowship Programme for students and early-career professionals from low- and middle-income countries. Through its global consortium, DTH-Lab turns their perspectives and evidence into practical approaches to digital health governance, rooted in equity and public value.
External Resources
