An interactive guide to the digital health global goods ecosystem
EXPLORE GLOBAL GOODSThis guidebook is updated regularly and designed to work together with the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Classification of Digital Health Interventions v1.0.
Search for the global goods most appropriate for your needs.
This will guide you to the most appropriate content depending on your interests.
What factors to consider when planning procurement and implementation.
Learn more about the criteria used to determine a Global Good and the application process.
Digital Square is a PATH-led initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a consortium of other partners. For more information about Digital Square, please visit www.digitalsquare.org.
This guidebook is made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID. The contents of this guidebook are the responsibility of PATH and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.
Copyright 2023 PATH. Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. The content in this resource may be freely used in accordance with this license provided the material is accompanied by the following attribution: “Digital Square Global Goods Guidebook, Copyright 2023 PATH.
The Principles of Donor Alignment for Digital Health describe the importance of aligning around scalable, sustainable, accessible, interoperable, and evidence-based digital public goods for health that meet country priorities. By better coordinating the development of digital public goods for health, such as those presented in this guidebook, stakeholders can play a crucial role in moving the global health sector from a past era of funding characterized by pilots and other proof-of-concept demonstrations, to a future guided by investments in country-led and country-managed digital health strategies and systems that can be independently operated, expanded, and sustained by host governments and local partners over time.
How would you describe yourself?
A person within a specific country who wants to implement/deploy a global good for a project. This could include a ministry of health member, government representative, or staff person at an international non-governmental organization (INGO).
A person who implements or oversees the implementation of a global good at the project or program level. This may be a person working for the MOH, the implementing partner organization, or an entrepreneur working within a local context.
A person who writes, customizes, or configures code for a particular global good, or someone with technical expertise on a topic related to global goods, such as cybersecurity or interoperability.
A person or entity who provides funds for the development or evolution of a global good or is interested in investing in future global goods.
A person or entity who is the primary steward or custodian of a global good; someone who is responsible for maintaining and enhancing the global good on behalf of the community. This may include product managers, community managers, business and systems analysts, and UX designers.
A person within a specific country who wants to implement/deploy a global good for a project. This could include a ministry of health member, government representative, or staff person at an international non-governmental organization (INGO).
Digital Square’s Total Cost of Ownership Tool is a useful resource that can be used by health leaders to understand and estimate the costs of a digital health project.
Total Cost Of Ownership Tool
PATH has also created a list of Africa-based Digital Health Entrepreneurs, which serves as a valuable resource for connecting with key innovators. These efforts aim to showcase the important work being done and encourage collaboration in the global health space.
List of Africa-based Digital Health Entrepreneurs
Where can I find definitions for common digital health terminology?
The Asia eHealth information network (AeHIN) Terminology Guide has definitions for common digital health terminology. This may be a useful resource to look up unfamiliar terms in this guidebook.
Where can I learn more about a digital health tool deployed in a country?
In this guidebook, each global good entry has a geographic reach section that lists those countries with known implementations. Use the filter to review the list of countries where a tool has been deployed. In addition, the WHO global technology registry platform, the Digital Health Atlas, aims to strengthen the value and impact of digital health interventions, improve coordination, and facilitate institutionalization and scale. Use the Atlas to review and catalogue a country’s implemented digital health tools
Where can I find an overview of digital health?
MEASURE Evaluation, working collaboratively with the Global Evaluation and Monitoring Network for Health (GEMNet-Health), developed a free, short course for health information system professionals, the Health Informatics for Low-and Middle-Income Countries course. Take this course to become familiar with the most commonly found concerns and tools in digital health.
I’m planning a digital health intervention. What are the key considerations that I should know?
K4Health created a mHealth Planning Guide that includes resources for planning digital health interventions. Read the guide to understand key considerations. This course is hosted on the Digital Square resource library.
A person who implements or oversees the implementation of a global good at the project or program level. This may be a person working for the MOH, the implementing partner organization, or an entrepreneur working within a local context.
What existing digital health tools are available for my project?
When planning a new digital health project, consider global goods that may be adopted and adapted to met your needs. The guidebook contains a wealth of information on each of the global goods that have been approved through a community process.
View global goods
Where can I learn more about a digital health tool deployed in a country?
In this guidebook, each global good entry has a geographic reach section that lists those countries with known implementations. Use the filter to review the list of countries where a tool has been deployed. In addition, the WHO global technology registry platform, the Digital Health Atlas, aims to strengthen the value and impact of digital health interventions, improve coordination, and facilitate institutionalization and scale. Use the Atlas to review and catalogue a country’s implemented digital health tools.
I’m planning a digital health intervention. What are the key considerations that I should know?
The Digital implementation investment guide (DIIG) was developed by the World Health Organization to help governments and technical partners plan a digital health implementation focusing on one or more health programmes supporting national health system goals. It is designed to provide users with step-by-step guidance through planning, costing and implementing digital health interventions within a digital health enterprise.
A person who writes, customizes, or configures code for a particular global good, or someone with technical expertise on a topic related to global goods, such as cybersecurity or interoperability.
Where can I find out more about the HL7 FHIR interoperability standard?
Digital Square hosts regular webinars where you can find out more about FHIR, whether you are a novice or an expert. Find out more and access recordings and videos of previous sessions at:
Digital Square on FHIR.
The HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard is a set of rules and specifications for exchanging electronic health care data. Find out more at the FHIR Foundation.
A person or entity who provides funds for the development or evolution of a global good or is interested in investing in future global goods.
How are global goods assessed?
The global goods maturity models are intended to identify areas of investments for global goods. These are self-assessment tools used by innovators during the application process across 3 main indicators: global utility, community support and maturity of the tool.
global goods maturity models
Where can I learn more about a digital health tool deployed in a country?
In this guidebook, each global good entry has a geographic reach section that lists those countries with known implementations. Use the filter to review the list of countries where a tool has been deployed. In addition, the WHO global technology registry platform, the Digital Health Atlas, aims to strengthen the value and impact of digital health interventions, improve coordination, and facilitate institutionalization and scale. Use the Atlas to review and catalogue a country’s implemented digital health tools
What are the Digital Investment Principles?
The ten Principles of Donor Alignment for Digital Health are intended to guide investments in partner countries’ digital health systems by aligning with countries’ digital strategies.
A person or entity who is the primary steward or custodian of a global good; someone who is responsible for maintaining and enhancing the global good on behalf of the community. This may include product managers, community managers, business and systems analysts, and UX designers.
A “shelf-ready software global good ” provides those who evaluate and implement digital health global goods with the confidence that the product meets the described functions, is quality assured and includes all the necessary information and tools needed to evaluate, deploy, test, implement and operationalize the global good. Use our Shelf Readiness Framework to assess your digital health tool’s shelf-readiness.
Shelf Readiness
Where can I find definitions for common digital health terminology?
The Asia eHealth information network (AeHIN) Terminology Guide has definitions for common digital health terminology. Use this resource to look up unfamiliar terms in this guidebook.
