For many young people, the rise of mobile phone technology is empowering: social media grants anonymous access to sexual and reproductive health information and online community. On spaces such as Facebook, YouTube and more, innovative social media health champions are attracting thousands of young people who seek reliable information and safe space for discussion on taboo topics. But not everyone has access to online spaces, and at national and global levels, governments struggle to keep pace with the growth of new technologies and online platforms. The digital transformation in health brings both huge benefits and risks to privacy, well-being, misinformation and security. Can social media be harnessed to promote the right to health? In this webinar, the Digital Health and Rights Project shares findings from a transnational participatory action research study into young adults' experiences with digital health in Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, and Vietnam.

The Covid-19 pandemic exposed deep-rooted inequalities and systemic weaknesses in health systems. While the potential of digital technologies to support health systems has become evident during the pandemic, access to technology is not equitable, and safety is not a given. For people living with HIV, key populations, women and girls, the online world brings new risks of cyberbullying, extortion, marginalisation and discrimination as well. The Digital Health and Rights project is investigating these issues through in-depth social science research and has new findings from the first country in the study, Kenya. Join us for an in-depth discussion on the role of the United Nations and governments in driving rights-based use of digital technologies for HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and hear reflections from young people.

A new thematic report to the UN Human Rights Council on digital innovation, technologies and the right to health by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health was shared during this event. Diverse panelists reflected on the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations, and develop key action priorities for the development of stronger global, regional and national rights-based standards on digital health. The event was organized by the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN) in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Brazil in Geneva, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany in Geneva, Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), Privacy International, STOPAIDS, the Global Health Centre of the Graduate Institute, International Commission of Jurists (Africa), the Global Governance Centre at Geneva Graduate Institute, and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies at University of Warwick.

ata-driven technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are set to revolutionise the health sector, driving transformation in virtually all public health areas, from diagnostics, to screening, treatment and beyond. Big data, digital tech and AI may contribute to the fulfilment of social rights, serving as a critical tool to enable social mobilisation and identify health disparities, discrimination and inaccessibility. However, the way data, AI and technology are used in global health raises important questions about human rights including how rights can be ensured during the digital wave. These important questions underpin a special section in the December 2020 issue of theHealth and Human Rights JournalLink opens in a new window. In this roundtable, the contributing editors and authors will take up these questions, including in relationship to the Black Lives Matter movement and the present pandemic.

Data is increasingly important in planning and decision-making, but it can also be biased and shaped by our assumptions and gaps in knowledge. When this gap-filled data is plugged into algorithms, it can amplify existing forms of discrimination. For example, the global HIV response is being undermined by the fact that many governments deny the existence of the key populations at greatest risk -- LGBTI+, sex workers, drug users, and transgender people. Since no data is gathered about their needs, life-saving services are not funded, and the lack of data reinforces the denial. This creates a data paradox which can warp national health priorities and plans. Stigma, discrimination and inequality are systematically creating invisibility which can keep marginalized, stigmatized groups uncounted and unserved. To break the vicious cycle of this data paradox, we have to change the power relationships that keep some groups hidden and on the margins.