Zambia’s Digital Health Strategy 2022-2026

Zambia’s Digital Health Strategy 2022-2026 focuses on leveraging digital technologies to improve health outcomes, achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and support the broader sustainable development goals (SDG), particularly SDG 3. It is built around a structured plan that spans from leadership reform and investment sustainability to enhancing digital infrastructure and services.

Key aspects of the strategy include:

1. Leadership and governance: Establishing effective governance frameworks, involving stakeholders across sectors, and aligning with national and international health policies to drive the digital health agenda.
2. Investment and sustainability: Developing a coordinated investment approach with development partners to ensure sustainable digital health programs, even beyond external funding.
3. Workforce development: Building capacity in digital health skills among health professionals, promoting continuous education, and fostering a robust health informatics workforce.
4. Policy and compliance: Strengthening regulatory frameworks to address data privacy, cybersecurity, and interoperability, ensuring that digital health services meet legal and ethical standards.
5. Infrastructure development: Enhancing digital health infrastructure to improve connectivity, data exchange, and digital service delivery, particularly in remote and underserved areas.
6. Services and applications: Expanding the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, and data analytics to improve service delivery and healthcare management.
7. Monitoring and evaluation: Implementing a framework for tracking progress, assessing outcomes, and ensuring continuous improvement throughout the strategy’s lifecycle.

The strategy emphasises a participatory approach, involving consultations with stakeholders to ensure alignment with national health objectives and the needs of the Zambian population. It seeks to create an integrated digital health ecosystem that supports better decision-making, more efficient healthcare delivery, and enhanced patient outcomes across the country.