The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025 (now extended to 2027) promotes a more robust digital health governance system, including through the development of national digital health strategies. To successfully operationalise the Global Strategy across territories in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Regional Strategy for Fostering Digital Health in the EMR (2023-2027) encourages the formulation of national digital health strategies aligned with broader national and public health priorities. Today, fifteen out of twenty-one countries in the region have adopted national strategies, with others under way.
Our report, Towards People-centred Digital Health Strategies: Gender, Equity, Rights and Inclusion, that reviewed 20 national digital health strategies found that gender equality, human rights, and the needs of marginalised populations were largely overlooked. The Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM) at the University of Warwick and the event co-sponsors at Health Enabled are hosting this third and final webinar in our series to share insights and practical tools aimed at embedding gender, equity and rights in national digital health strategies throughout the development and implementation processes.
Title: Strengthening Gender, Equity and Rights in National Digital Health Strategies in the East Mediterranean
Date: 5th March 2026
Time: 2:00pm-3:30pm GMT, 4:00pm-5:30pm EET, IST
Where: Online
Platform: Microsoft Teams (Link provided upon registration)
The webinar will be held in English. Automated live captions will be available in multiple languages, including Arabic and French.
Registration: https://forms.office.com/e/f4nCEPGeBc
Speakers:
- Arash Rashidian, Coordinator, Science, Innovation & Data for Impact (SID), WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean
- Ayman Sabea, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shamseya
- Khaled Hassine, Health Cluster lead, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
- Kathryn Johnson, Policy Specialist, HIV and Health Group, UN Development Programme (UNDP)
- Patricia Mechael, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Health Enabled
- Tariq El Alaoui, Co-founder Kaynin Plus, MENA focal point GNP+
- Facilitators: Meg Davis, Professor, Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM), University of Warwick; Project Lead, Digital Health and Rights Project; Tara Imalingat, Advocacy and Impact Coordinator, Digital Health and Rights Project, CIM, University of Warwick; Javier Garcia Martinez, Digital Health and Rights Project
And please save the date for our hybrid side event at the World Health Assembly (WHA):
Promoting Human Rights in Digital Health and AI Strategies: National and Global perspectives
Date: 20 May 2026
Time: 2:00pm-3:30pm GMT
Where: Impact Hub, Geneva & Online
Registration (online and in-person): https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/rAahurpV65
French, Spanish and Vietnamese interpretation will be available online
Please register and disseminate this invitation with others who may be interested!
