Effectiveness and scalability of innovative digital health solutions responding to COVID-19 crisis among refugees and vulnerable populations

This project is part of an initiative that will provide evidence and strengthen capacity for bridging the knowledge gap in responding to the growing COVID-19 health crisis in the short-term and longer term. The initiative will support research on resilience building and preparedness to serve the needs of refugees and other populations on the move by promoting inter-sectoral approaches, including building bridges between humanitarian and development responses to reduce and control health risks for displaced populations, and leveraging existing local opportunities to strengthen the overall initiative.

This project will investigate the effectiveness of developing and scaling up three digital health solutions in strengthening health systems and improving access to care in at-risk populations in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The two-year project will use the current COVID-19 pandemic to identify existing gaps in preparedness and early response of health systems. The approach will include quantitative and qualitative methods to study three critical areas related to health emergencies: early detection of illness in at-risk populations; teleconsultation to improve access to care for the hard-to-reach; and mobile applications for best practice guidelines for healthcare workers. The evidence will be communicated through a variety of academic and policy outputs.