The vision of the WHO Innovation Hub is a world where innovation, especially in digital health, drives health equity, accessibility, and positive health outcomes.

Born from WHO’s transformational commitment in the Department of Digital Health and Innovation, the WHO Innovation Hub works to activate the entire innovation ecosystem towards the development and scaling of health innovations for all.

Ecosystem building

Partnering with the public and private sectors to build ecosystems and functional markets for innovations in health.

Innovation scale-up

Collaborating with countries to identify health needs, source innovations, and expand them to meet national priorities.

Normative guidance

Developing blueprints, standards, and tools to guide sustainable innovation scale-up.

The WHO Country Demand Catalyst Program

Supported by Grand Challenges Canada, Demand Catalyst works with Ministries of Health to articulate their demand for innovation, including digital, source innovations across the WHO ecosystem, and enable their scaling.

Launched in 2024, Demand Catalyst has engaged 17 member states, and supported the scaling of 6 innovations across mental health, primary healthcare, and maternal & child health.

The experience is being codified in a WHO Guidance and Toolkit for the Scaling of Innovations in Health, to be finalized in 2025.

LEAD - Innovation challenge “AI for All”

The LEAD Innovation Challenge (Leap, Engage, Accelerate, Disrupt) is WHO's flagship Innovation Challenge - engaging staff, member states, and vetted partners in generating and developing solutions to public health challenges.

Its 2025 edition (“AI for all”) focuses on ideas leveraging AI to advance public health goals (while at the same time enhancing participants’ capabilities in using AI for health).

Since 2021, LEAD has engaged >2000 participants, assessed 250+ ideas, and supported 47 innovations, with a strong shift towards country participation, a focus on WHO’s external impact, and engagement of member states.

Digital Innovation Investment Platform (DIIP)

WHO’s Digital Innovation Investment Platform emerged from a comprehensive discovery research exercise done by the Innovation Hub end of 2024 (focused on the most catalytic actions WHO can take to accelerate the uptake of health innovations).

The DIIP focuses on partnering with member states and the private sector (including the investor community) to build the foundations for the scaling of digital innovations that combine health impact & business opportunity.

The DIIP is currently working with the WHO Foundation on developing key thematic chapters and partnerships.

The WHO Innovation Hub operates in a hybrid manner – enabling us to catalyze the global digital innovation ecosystem.

If you would like to collaborate with the Hub, reach out at innovation@who.int.

You can also meet us in WHO’s dedicated innovation space, “Eureka” (Geneva Headquarters, Building B, next to the WHO Café) – a place of cross-sector connectivity and co-creation for the acceleration of digital innovation in health.