Leave no one behind in the digital era!
Our health and digital technologies are increasingly connected – from using mobile apps to find out about our health, to supporting digital Covid-19 surveillance, to booking virtual appointments with the doctor. These can have a huge impact on our physical and mental health and wellbeing, both positively and negatively.
So, what are our rights? What steps are being taken to make sure young people, in all our diversity, are connected, protected and having a say in what the digital environment looks like?
Young people are standing up to demand that our rights are respected when it comes to digital health and we need governments to listen.
There are many digital tools that offer to help people to get the healthcare they need, help hospitals to run more effectively and help governments to make public health decisions.
But many of us remain unaware of what happens to personal information we share through apps, and who ends up controlling or profiting from it. 2.9 billion people worldwide, and disproportionately women and girls, are still offline due to a lack of access to technologies and strong internet infrastructure, as well as the high-costs of data. This creates a ‘digital divide’ between who has access and who doesn’t.
We’re calling on governments to prioritise young people’s digital rights by centering their voices and needs in plans to strengthen digital health nationally and globally.
Stand with us today and join our global call to:
- Address the ‘digital divide’ so that all can benefit from digital health tools
- Invest in digital literacy, so that young people know their digital rights
- Ensure young people have a say over their future and security by including them in the design and delivery of digital health strategies
- Put funding and regulations in place to ensure that young people’s rights and health data are protected, guided by the Health Data Principles
Learn more about digital rights and young people’s call to action in this briefing.
By signing on to this petition, we’ll take your voice with us directly to health ministries and the WHO, as we advocate for our rights, and let you know when we win.
Thank you for standing with us,
Youth Networks: Y+ Global, Y-ACT Kenya, Restless Development, Young Experts Tech for Health, with support from STOPAIDS, GNP+ and Mas que tres letras.
Without internet access, we are unconnected. Without digital education, we are unprotected. Without a say, we are not respected.