WHO initiative aims to digitise health records across ASEAN nations

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a three-year ASEAN initiative for digital health wallets to replace paper health records with secure, interoperable digital versions.

The programme, launched with the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research in partnership with the Temasek Foundation, aims to give people trusted, portable access to essential health information while strengthening national health systems and improving continuity of care.

The initiative builds on lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, which highlighted the need for reliable, verifiable digital health documentation.

It also aligns with the International Health Regulations 2025, which call for globally recognised digital health certificates.

The move from paper-based tools, such as the traditional “Yellow Card” and child health booklets, to digital health wallets is intended to reduce administrative gaps, prevent the use of forged documents and ensure records can follow people across borders and between providers.

Dr Alain Labrique, director of the data, digital health, analytics and AI department at WHO, said: “Digital health wallets are more than a technological upgrade, they are a commitment to building trusted, people-centred health systems.

“By supporting countries in adopting secure, interoperable solutions, we ensure that individuals can carry their essential health information with confidence and dignity.

“This partnership reflects our shared belief that digital transformation must strengthen national capacity, uphold equity, and provide the foundation for resilient health systems.”

The wallets will use cryptographic verification, a way of digitally checking that records are genuine, through WHO’s Global Digital Health Certification Network. Countries will begin with digital International Certificates of Vaccination or Prophylaxis before expanding to routine immunisation, maternal and child health records and, eventually, broader personal health summaries.

The programme will provide technical guidance, shared digital public infrastructure, capacity building and targeted implementation support.

Countries will receive help to assess readiness, plan deployment and integrate new wallet functions into national health information systems.

A key part of the initiative is the adoption of global interoperability standards, including HL7 FHIR and the International Patient Summary, to help data move safely and consistently across systems.

Pilot activities will generate practical insights into how the wallets can improve service delivery, including for mothers, children and travellers in ASEAN member states.

Kee Kirk Chuen, head of health and well-being at the Temasek Foundation, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic showed how important it is for health records to be trusted, verifiable and able to travel with people across borders.

“Through our partnership with WHO, the Temasek Foundation hopes to support countries in moving from fragmented paper records to secure digital health wallets that individuals can carry with them wherever they go.

“By testing this approach in pilot ASEAN member states we aim to demonstrate how trusted digital tools can strengthen health systems, improve continuity of care, including for families and children, and build the local capabilities needed for governments to scale these systems nationally.

“If successful, this effort can help turn global digital health standards into practical solutions that benefit communities across the region.”

Dr Kumanan Rasanathan, executive director of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, added: “Digital health interventions only become solutions when successfully integrated into existing health systems based on a nuanced understanding of local realities.

“The Alliance is delighted to support digital health wallets by facilitating learning across the partner countries to inform implementation in each specific context.”

Each engaged country will also carry out policy and implementation research to build national capacity and support wider regional learning.

By the end of the programme, the digital health wallets will have been piloted in each country and the results documented as a replicable model for other countries in the region.

The initiative will also produce global guidance to help other countries adopt secure, standards-based digital health wallets, contributing to stronger, more resilient health systems across the region and beyond.