Fifty-one of the 53 countries in the World Health Organization’s European Region are now part of a network for sharing knowledge on health data—a sign of how widely digital health work is spreading. In a progress report covering June 2024 to March 2026, WHO/Europe describes support for better health information, staff training and cooperation across the region.
The work matters because health services need reliable information to spot gaps, plan care and spend limited budgets well. Digital tools can help, but countries also need rules, skills and fair access so the technology benefits patients and health workers alike.
Since June 2024, WHO/Europe has supported 20 countries in strengthening how they collect, use and act on health data. Technical help with health information systems in Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Latvia, North Macedonia and Spain is shaping national digital health strategies. Bosnia and Herzegovina worked with WHO to bring telemedicine into primary care. Georgia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan received support on making systems work together, improving data flows and using evidence in planning.
Training has also reached government and health professionals. Thirteen Member States took part in sessions on artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, 13 in training on the International Classification of Diseases 11, and 15 in courses on data visualization, Power BI and writing prompts for AI tools. WHO/Europe also released 12 research and technical publications on topics including health data governance, AI, telemedicine, cybersecurity, digital mental health, misinformation and equity. Four policy briefs look at governing health data in the age of AI, expanding telemedicine, financing digital health and helping health workers adopt digital tools.
Partnerships have helped carry this work across borders. More than 1,100 professionals joined webinars and training co-funded through a European Commission partnership. An AI-in-health initiative with Portugal was showcased at a regional dialogue in Porto in September 2025 and a global event in Lisbon in July 2026. An agreement with Malta supported WHO’s digital health work and a high-level AI meeting in Valletta, attended by senior officials from 41 Member States and more than 500 participants. Italy is also working with WHO/Europe on its national digital health strategy.
Three new WHO collaborating centres were designated over the past two years: Deggendorf Institute of Technology and the Open University of Catalonia, focused on digital health policy and implementation, and Public Health Wales, focused on equity. They bring the regional total supporting WHO on data, AI and digital health to five. A project with the Novo Nordisk Foundation, due to begin in November 2026, will explore how digital tools can help older adults live independently with dignity and connection while supporting care workers.
Progress does not mean the work is finished. Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, WHO/Europe’s Director of Health Systems, said patients and health workers still need better digital skills and access for technology to be equitable. A Member State working group is helping shape a regional AI roadmap for 2026–2033 and a global digital health strategy for 2028–2033. As the action plan enters its fifth year, WHO/Europe says it will keep working with countries and partners to make digital tools serve better health.