World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Digital Health Equity
In 2025, the Research, Data and Digital Directorate in Public Health Wales was designated the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Digital Health Equity. Wales is leading the way, by hosting the first World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in the European Region specifically focused on equity across the digital transformation of health.
The WHO Collaborating Centre for Digital Health Equity is working towards a future where data and digital health transformation enhances equitable health outcomes – bringing benefit to Wales and the wider European region.
As a Collaborating Centre, we lead delivery of a workplan agreed by both organisations spanning technical reviews, research, and evidence-gathering – with a key role in supporting WHO’s strategies and priorities on digital health at both regional and global levels.
The terms of reference are:
1. Support WHOs activities towards strengthening capability for digital health equity in support of organisational priorities.
2. Inform WHOs work on the development of technical guidance for equity in digital health.
3. Support efforts towards enhancing technical cooperation among, as well as awareness raising and advocacy within, regional digital health stakeholders for digital health equity.
For more information and to collaborate with us
Heads of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Digital Health Equity
· Alisha Davies (Deputy Director of Research, Data and Digital).
· Iain Bell (Director of Research, Data and Digital)
Please contact us via [email protected]
Our focus: Equity across digital health transformation
Public Health Wales has been working in collaboration with WHO Europe since 2002, with the publication of our first report which highlighted that digital health tools are not accessible to everyone in Europe equally. People from minority ethnic groups, those experiencing poorer health, facing language barriers, and some population groups including migrants and older adults, were all found to encounter the greatest challenges in using digital technologies. Whereas digital health technologies were more commonly used by people with more advanced education levels, higher economic status and living in urban areas.
Our recently published review, in 2026, highlighted that whilst the importance of equity is increasingly acknowledged across the regulation, implementation and evaluation of digital health, its integration into practice remains inconsistent.
We are currently developing an approach to embed equity across the social and technical domains of digital to support health transformation.
Our work in this field is focused on shaping equitable digital health, supporting transformation in Wales and across the WHO Europe region.