In May 2025, the World Health Assembly (WHA) approved a historic extension of the WHO Global Strategy on Digital Health, extending its mandate to 2027 and launching preparations for a new phase (2028–2033). This decision reflects the growing urgency to leverage digital tools for equitable healthcare access, pandemic resilience, and climate-responsive health systems. With its roots in the 2020 strategy—a framework that catalyzed national digital health roadmaps in 130+ countries—the extended roadmap now prioritizes three interconnected pillars: data interoperability, AI ethics governance, and the Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN).

Data Interoperability: Breaking Down Cross-Border Barriers

Central to the 2027 roadmap is the harmonization of health data standards, a critical step to address fragmented global health systems. For instance, Switzerland’s eHealth Suisse initiative has pioneered a national electronic patient record (EPR) system, enabling seamless data sharing across its 26 cantons. By 2025, this system processed over 50 million patient records, reducing duplicate tests by 30% and cutting emergency room wait times by 20% . Building on such successes, WHO is advocating for adoption of the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard—a modular framework that allows real-time data exchange between systems. The EU’s Digital COVID Certificate (EU DCC), adopted by 78 countries, serves as a blueprint: its QR-code verification system, now integrated into GDHCN, enables cross-border validation of vaccination records and test results within seconds .

However, progress remains uneven. In low-income countries, only 28% of health facilities have basic digital infrastructure, creating a "data divide." To bridge this gap, WHO’s Global Digital Health Partnership—backed by a fifty million United States dollars fund from the Global Fund and private partners like Microsoft—aims to deploy interoperable systems in 30 African nations by 2027 .

AI Ethics Governance: Safeguarding Innovation

The 2027 roadmap emphasizes responsible AI deployment to avoid bias, privacy breaches, and misinformation. Singapore’s Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of AI and Data has set a benchmark with its Model AI Governance Framework, which mandates transparency in algorithmic decision-making for clinical diagnostics. Under this framework, AI-powered tools like Babylon Health’s symptom checker (used by Tencent in China) must undergo third-party audits to ensure diagnostic accuracy and equity . WHO’s AI Verify Toolkit, launched in 2024, now supports 60+ countries in testing AI systems against OECD and EU ethical standards, reducing certification time by 40% .

Yet challenges persist. A 2025 study by the University of Oxford found that 45% of AI-driven health apps in LMICs lacked robust data anonymization protocols, risking patient privacy. To address this, WHO is collaborating with the Partnership on AI to develop a Global AI Ethics Registry, a public database of certified tools accessible to policymakers and healthcare providers.

Global Certification Network: A New Era of Trust

The Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN), operational since 2023, represents the cornerstone of WHO’s post-pandemic digital health infrastructure. Built on the EU DCC’s trust architecture, GDHCN enables bilateral verification of health documents—from vaccination records to prescription authenticity—without central data storage. By 2025, 80 countries (including India and Brazil) have joined, facilitating seamless travel and care continuity for 1.8 billion people .

In a landmark pilot, Switzerland’s Health n Go app—developed with blockchain technology—allowed 50,000 travelers to securely share COVID-19 test results during 2021–2023. This model is now being adapted for WHO’s International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP), set to go digital by 2028. The system’s open-source design ensures affordability: a small clinic in Kenya can issue verifiable digital certificates for as little as ten United States dollars per month, compared to traditional paper-based systems costing fifty United States dollars per patient .

The Road Ahead: Scaling and Sustainability

While the 2027 roadmap advances critical priorities, scaling digital health solutions requires addressing systemic hurdles. Supply chain bottlenecks for semiconductor chips (vital for IoT medical devices) and cybersecurity threats (with 60% of healthcare data breaches linked to ransomware in 2025) remain pressing concerns. To mitigate these risks, WHO’s Digital Health Impact Accelerator—backed by Anglo American and Novartis—will invest thirty million United States dollars in 2025 to train 10,000 healthcare IT professionals in LMICs .

Looking to 2028–2033, the next phase of WHO’s strategy will focus on AI-driven predictive analytics for climate-related health emergencies and telehealth integration in rural areas. As Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted at WHA 78: “Digital health is not a luxury—it’s a lifeline. The 2027 roadmap is our chance to turn this vision into a global reality, ensuring no one is left behind.”

This extension marks a pivotal shift from fragmented innovation to coordinated action. By embedding equity, ethics, and interoperability into its core, WHO is not just updating a strategy—it’s redefining the future of healthcare. For a world grappling with pandemics, climate crises, and aging populations, this is both a challenge and an opportunity: to build a digital health ecosystem that truly serves humanity.

（Writer：Lany）