Advancing global collaboration in digital health: 17th GDHP Summit in Geneva
The 17th Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) Summit took place on 25–26 June 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland, co-hosted with the World Health Organization (WHO) at its headquarters.
Held under the GDHP Chairmanship of Portugal (2026–2027), this was the first Summit convened under its leadership of the Partnership, following the assumption of the Chair on 1 January 2026 for a two-year mandate.
Bringing together more than 100 representatives from over 30 GDHP Member Countries, the Summit reflected the scale and diversity of the Partnership, with two days of discussions dedicated to sharing national progress, addressing global priorities and shaping the future of digital health. Members, partners and international stakeholders participated both in person and online, reinforcing the importance of international cooperation in advancing aligned, people-centred digital health transformation worldwide.
Across the two days, the programme combined plenary sessions, institutional updates and thematic workstream discussions, covering priority areas such as the implementation of the WHO Global Strategy on Digital Health, interoperability, cyber security, policy environments, evidence and evaluation, and clinical and human-centred approaches to digital transformation.
The opening day featured a series of global updates from key international partners, setting the stage for the subsequent workstream discussions. These included:
- Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- WHO/Europe
- PAHO – Pan American Health Organization
- HELINA – The Pan-African Health Informatics Association
These contributions highlighted regional experiences and priorities in advancing digital health, helping to frame the discussions that followed across GDHP workstreams. The day continued with structured exchanges across GDHP workstreams, enabling members to share progress, exchange experiences and identify common priorities across policy and technical domains, and concluded with reflections from the Chair and updates across the Partnership.
Day two opened with a Steering Committee meeting, followed by updates from members and a strategic session dedicated to defining priorities for 2026. The programme also included the presentation of the outcomes of the working groups, as well as a discussion on their dissemination and practical application among policy-makers and national digital health programmes.
The Summit was preceded by the 3rd Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) Convening, held in Geneva on 23–24 June 2026. The proximity of both events reinforced continuity across complementary global initiatives and strengthened alignment within the broader digital health ecosystem.
The 17th GDHP Summit marked an important milestone for the Partnership, reflecting the continued commitment of members to advancing safe, sustainable and people-centred digital transformation in health systems worldwide.
On behalf of the GDHP Chair and the World Health Organization, sincere thanks are extended to all members, speakers and partners for their active participation and valuable contributions. Special appreciation is given to the WHO for co-hosting the Summit and for its continued leadership in global digital health collaboration.
