By Mitali Ayyangar, Director, Global Communities Program, DataKind
Earlier this month, the DataKind team participated in the Global Digital Health Forum (GDHF) in Nairobi, one of the leading international gatherings for digital health knowledge sharing and collaboration in low- and middle-income countries.
Our week kicked off with the pre-conference Global Women Leaders in Digital Health (GLOW) workshop (pictured above), which I had the privilege of participating in. GLOW brought together 60 women leaders from across the globe, representing diverse backgrounds and sectors, all shaping the future of digital health. It was a powerful reminder of the role of inclusive leadership and cross-sector collaboration in driving meaningful innovation.
Ahead of the conference, we also shared our Climate x Health Pulse prototype with the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and Lacuna Fund partners.
We attended GDHF to launch our latest Climate-Health Landscape Report and to demo our Climate x Health Pulse prototype, a tool designed to overcome the fragmentation of climate, health, and community-level data. Over three days, we connected with hundreds of attendees, led sessions, and engaged in rich conversations across the Forum. These experiences reinforced that digital innovation, AI, and collaboration are essential to help health systems anticipate climate risks and act locally.
Here are the three key lessons we’re taking forward.
1. Climate resilience is now a central priority for health
With an entire conference track dedicated to Climate & Health, it was clear that stakeholders across governments, nonprofits, and social enterprises see climate resilience as a critical challenge. Conversations at our booth often focused on the question: How do we ensure digital solutions and AI are truly useful on the ground?
The answer is clear: solutions must be deeply localized and context-aware, co-designed with the communities they aim to serve. It’s not just about the latest technology, it’s a partnership framework for health systems, supporting frontline decision-making in real time.
2. AI offers immense promise – but only if deployed responsibly and sustainably
AI surfaced repeatedly in discussions, from its potential to unify fragmented data to accelerating actionable insights for decision-makers. Yet, participants emphasized that AI is not a silver bullet. To deliver meaningful impact, digital health solutions must be:
- Customizable to local needs
- Transparent and continuously evaluated
- Affordable and sustainable
These conversations underscored a broader sector-wide need: responsible AI practices paired with local expertise. Collaboration between AI developers, implementers, and end-users will be key to achieving lasting impact.
3. Partnership and innovation are more important than ever
Despite funding challenges earlier this year, GDHF drew over 900 in-person participants and hundreds more online. The energy was palpable: a community committed to reducing unmet health needs, anticipating the next crisis and acting pro-actively.
As the development landscape shifts, organizations must make evidence-driven cases for how innovations strengthen health systems and deliver real value to communities. Partnerships and collaboration remain essential – they’re what allow innovative products like Climate x Health Pulse to translate insights into action at scale.
What’s Next
We’re excited to continue building on the conversations from GDHF. Here’s how you can engage with our work:
- Explore our latest insights: Read our Climate-Health Landscape report
- Join the conversation: Register for our free Climate x Health Pulse webinar on January 22 to see the prototype in action and explore opportunities for collaboration
GDHF 2025 reinforced what we’ve long believed: digital products, AI, and data solutions can unlock powerful, locally grounded health insights – but only when built in partnership with the communities and organizations they aim to serve. We’re proud to lead, collaborate, and innovate in this space, and we look forward to what comes next.
Representing DataKind at the Global Digital Health Forum in Nairobi.
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Quick Links
- Bridging the Climate-Health Data Gap for More Resilient Health Systems
Building Climate-Resilient Health Systems: Insights from DataKind’s Latest Climate-Health Landscape - Integrating climate and health data to mitigate health risks
- From Evidence to Action: The research that shaped the Data Observation Toolkit
- Humanitarian Data Insights Project: Using generative AI to streamline data access and use for humanitarian action
