The Hidden Danger. Digital tools expose young HIV patients to surveillance and bullying.

While digital health expands access, a sobering report by the Digital Health and Rights Project (DHRP) warns that it also exposes vulnerable youth to new forms of harm. Focused on young people living with HIV in Ghana, Kenya, and other nations, the report details how poorly designed digital tools are inadvertently facilitating surveillance, doxxing, and cyberbullying. Many young patients reported that their HIV status was leaked due to data breaches or non-private notification systems on their phones, leading to severe social stigma and discrimination.

The report argues that the rush to "digitize everything" has often bypassed essential privacy safeguards. Young users expressed fear that their personal health data is being shared with third parties or government agencies without their meaningful consent. The authors call for a "rights-based" approach to digital health, urging developers to co-create tools with young patients to ensure privacy features are robust. Without these protections, the report warns, the digital revolution risks driving marginalized youth away from the very care systems meant to support them.

Read the original article at: https://thechronicle.com.gh/new-dhrp-report-exposes-digital-risks-facing-young-hiv-patients/

 

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to stay up to date with what's new in healthcare all around the world.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ghana's "Lightwave" system creates paperless hospitals, reducing wait times and digitizing patient records

Image
Ghana is undergoing a massive healthcare transformation with the rollout of the "Lightwave" Health Information Management System (LHIMS). This digital platform is replacing the chaotic, paper-based folders of the past with a streamlined, fully electronic system. In participating hospitals, patient records are now digital, meaning doctors can access a patient's full medical history instantly with a few clicks. This eliminates the frustration of lost folders and significantly speeds up the consultation process. The impact on efficiency has been dramatic. Patients no longer spend hours waiting for physical files to be retrieved, reducing overall wait times in outpatient departments. Beyond convenience, the system improves patient safety by ensuring that critical information, like allergies and past prescriptions, is always available to the treating physician. This shift towards paperless hospitals marks a major step forward for Ghana’s public health infrastructure, making ca...
Read more

Africa Health Insights: 20th November - 26th November' 2025

Image
  Kenya launches mobile clinic network to bring care to remote communities Kenya is expanding healthcare access through a nationwide Mobile Clinic network. This initiative is designed to deliver essential medical services directly to remote, displaced, or marginalized communities that lack permanent infrastructure. By establishing temporary service points, the mobile clinics are crucial for bridging geographical barriers and ensuring continuity of care, especially in regions with poor road networks or humanitarian crises. The program emphasizes quality of care and data-driven operations. Health partners utilize a shared Mobile Clinic Quality of Care Toolkit, built on 24 evidence-based markers, to standardize and monitor service quality. The integration of advanced mHealth platforms, such as the M-Pesa payment system and remote monitoring, ensures that care is both accessible and equitable. Read the original article at https://allafrica.com/stories/202510220043.html Digital innova...
Read more

NGO urges sustainable emergency-operation centres in Nigeria’s PHCs

Image
The non-profit organization eHealth Africa (eHA) is strongly advocating for the long-term sustainability and local ownership of Public Health Emergency Operation Centers (PHEOCs) and associated digital infrastructure in Nigeria's Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs). While many PHEOCs were established with donor funding, particularly during the polio and COVID-19 responses, only a fraction remain fully functional due to issues like reliance on donor funding and maintenance failures. The NGO emphasizes that PHEOCs should be integrated as permanent public health command structures within PHC facilities, rather than viewed as temporary, donor-driven projects. Key to this sustainability is the adoption of renewable energy (solarization) to power critical ICT systems and the integration of climate-resilient digital solutions . eHA's own initiatives show the massive impact of solarization, leading to a surge in patients accessing PHCs and enabling 24/7 services like night deliverie...
Read more