JAKE ATKINSON Jake Atkinson is the campaigns and media officer at STOPAIDS, the health and rights advocacy network. X-TWITTER @JacobLAtkinson stopaids.org.uk
commodify intimate data from every aspect of human life, using this treasure trove to shape new tools for profit. THE INFLUENCE OF PRIVATE ACTORS To date, digital health priorities and governance have also been influenced by private actors, in part because of their technocratic expertise. Multi-stakeholder fora at the United Nations and in other global governance spaces are on the rise, with champions saying the presence of the private sector is essential to ensure governance is grounded in pragmatic realities. However, some critics argue multi-stakeholderism that does not recognise power inequalities may also undermine meaningful democracy, with disproportionate power given to private interests. These realities make it difficult for us to imagine digital spaces for the future that are safe, accessible and human rights– respecting for all. As a first step, rather than homogenising ‘beneficiaries’, we need to recognise the heterogeneity of populations, and their varying needs and challenges. Using an intersectional lens is critical to understanding how age, gender, religion, geographical location, class, race/ethnicity, economic status, sexual orientation and other political and social factors in different contexts, all impact on the way digital technologies are accessed and utilised. To imagine alternative futures, we also need to broaden traditional biomedical categories of health to acknowledge that the social, economic and political context has an enormous impact on the reach and potential of digital solutions. What would the future of digital health look like if it was created by and for the people, in all our diversity? A truly rights-based approach to digital technologies in health must be built on the meaningful participation of civil society and diverse, and also ‘less visible’ communities – including young people – in national and global governance of digital health. Health advocates of all ages must mobilise to promote digital rights, using an intersectional lens that addresses diverse forms of digital inequality as well as the diverse possibilities for new forms of inclusion, solidarity and voice. ▪
SARA (MEG) DAVIS Sara (Meg) Davis is professor of digital
health and rights at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies,
University of Warwick, and principal investigator of the Digital Health and Rights Project. X-TWITTER @saralmdavis warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/ cim/research/research-projects/ digital-health-rights
forced many women and marginalised or minoritised populations to limit their online presence. Those with the most to gain or lose feel the impacts most sharply: for LGBTQI+ communities, for example, fears of threats, stalking and persecution online remain very real, especially in the 67 countries that criminalise homosexuality. Most of us seem to have become complacent to these harms, thanks to the fast pace of change, but the digital world in which we live is profoundly shaped by business interests. From the platforms we use to access news and information, to messaging apps we use to connect with family and friends, to our work life, and even dating, shopping and entertainment – for those with access, almost all of daily life now takes place on platforms developed for profit. This includes health: Google now commands over 85% of global online searches for information, creating a near-monopoly on access to health information. Over 60% of the global internet population uses a mobile phone to go online, making much of the world dependent on telecommunications companies to check symptoms or chat with a medical provider. A small number of data-mining giants now command a growing percentage of government contracts. At the core of this trend are the demand for private actors to collect, aggregate and
ULLA JASPER Ulla Jasper is governance and policy lead at Fondation Botnar. X-TWITTER @FondationBotnar fondationbotnar.org MARIA MALOMALO Maria Malomalo is senior international research manager at Restless Development. X-TWITTER @mariamalom restlessdevelopment.org SABINA F RASHID Sabina F Rashid is professor and dean at the James P Grant School of Public Health, Brac University. She leads
several multi-country consortium grants focusing on poverty, gender, health and human rights. X-TWITTER @JamesPGrant bracjpgsph.org
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Health: A Political Choice – From Fragmentation to Integration
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