Reflection and exchanges within Be-cause health on digitalization started publically in 2016 with a conference Health 2.0: Are we ready to go digital? Follow-up workshops or the “E-Health for Development” academy have been organized examining concrete digital applications and ‘tools’ developed by academics, research centres and private companies.

During the 2016 conference by Be-cause health, over 120 participants shared innovative interventions and ideas from across Sub-Saharan Africa such as Benin, Senegal, Burundi, DRC, Rwanda and Burkina Faso. The conference led to the following recommendations:

• Future digital investments should be in line with the values and the health system vision promoted by Be-cause health: they must be inclusive and contribute to equitable access of all users to quality health services.
• Promote good practices identified by other communities and coalitions already committed to an inclusive development of e-health in LICs. For example:
  • through active involvement of the end users in the design and implementation of the e-health solution,
  • should not be ‘silo applications’ – they should aim at being part of (integrated) broader national and regional health information platforms.
• Build a supportive ecosystem: linking the Development Cooperation & Digital agenda both in Belgium and in the ‘Global South’, strengthening of communities of digital stakeholders -> e-health projects, investments, education & skills development.
• Monitor & Learn: We need evidence on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and an appropriate agenda of implementation research (why it works or not, how it works, who it works for…).

Further workshops look at operational obstacles and sustainability of e-health interventions, potential impact on quality of care and challenges related to ICT capacity building. With a brief presentation of each tool, participants get the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience from leading developers and users of each of the tools.