April 1, 2026
It was great to join and speak at the UK–Global Health Summit Satellite Event in London yesterday, focused on “Leveraging Digital Health and Innovation in LMICs.”
The session brought together ministries of health, non-profits, and the private sector to move beyond algorithms and focus on the real-world deployment of digital technologies and AI to strengthen health workforce education and service delivery.
Here are a few key themes from the event:
Digital literacy is foundational.
There was a strong call to accelerate digital skills in underserved communities through cross-sector approaches. A standout example came from Idil Ismail in Somaliland, where widespread use of mobile money has enabled communities to learn by doing, building practical digital confidence that supports the uptake of digital health systems.
Interoperability remains critical.
Without it, new technologies (however good) risk further fragmenting already complex systems. Standards such as FHIR are essential to enable systems to “talk to each other,” but real-world implementation remains uneven in LMICs. Designing systems around user needs is key to making interoperability meaningful in practice.
Simplicity and trust drive adoption.
In sharing our partnership with the government and GHP to transform cancer care in Ethiopia, Nipun Jain and I emphasised that AI tools must be intuitive for frontline health workers and designed to solve their real-world challenges, integrating seamlessly into daily workflows. Trust is built not through the technology itself, but through demonstrable improvements in patient outcomes.
Ultimately, technology is only as powerful as the people who are enabled to use it well.
Thank you to the organisers and moderators and it was great to meet others committed to turning these conversations into action across LMICs.
Rich Bryson, CEO, Spirit Health Foundation
