World Health Day 2025: advancing digital health and AI-driven innovation in healthcare

World Health Day, marked each year on 7 April, puts global health priorities in focus. In 2025, the theme is maternal and newborn health — a call to action to eradicate preventable maternal and newborn deaths and prioritise women's overall health and well-being.

Digital health projects, including those managed by HaDEA, play a crucial role in this effort. By funding smart, AI-driven solutions, the EU is helping build a more accessible, efficient, and equitable healthcare system for all. A range of projects funded by the Digital Europe Programme and managed by HADEA exemplify this potential, each providing innovative approaches to integrating AI and digital health into the healthcare ecosystem:

• The Master of Managing Digital Transformation in the Health Sector (ManagiDiTH) aims to equip professionals with essential digital skills for innovation in healthcare. Through an interdisciplinary programme, it develops expertise in service design, technology, and management, essential for addressing complex healthcare challenges. The initiative emphasises problem-based learning and upskills graduates from various fields, responding to the urgent need to enhance healthcare performance and digital opportunities highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis.
• The Advanced Digital Skills programme in AI and Health caters to the rising demand for AI applications in healthcare by offering comprehensive training. It features specialised courses in areas such as AI and biomarkers, AI and medical technologies, and Health Informatics. The programme includes online courses, workshops, and short-term professional training, and provides recorded lectures accessible to the public. It aims to enhance digital skills among healthcare professionals and facilitate the transfer of technology into practice.
• DS4Health designs a Master's programme focused on digital health to train healthcare professionals in advanced technologies such as AI, cybersecurity, and IoT. The programme emphasises a citizen-centred, co-design approach and seeks to address societal challenges in healthcare. By offering education to a large number of students, it aims to fill the gap in digital specialists needed for modern, efficient healthcare systems and to foster the digital transformation of healthcare services.
• SHAIPED focuses on facilitating the development and deployment of AI medical devices by providing pathways for regulatory optimisation. The project aims to leverage health data to improve patient outcomes and reduce the time it takes to bring advanced medical tools to market. By exploring real-world data applications, SHAIPED works on refining regulatory strategies to support innovation in AI medical devices, strengthening the integration of digital technology into healthcare.

Background

DIGITAL is the first funding programme of the EU entirely focused on bringing digital technology to businesses and citizens. With a budget of €8.1 billion under the present Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, it has been shaping the digital transformation of Europe's society and economy.

For more information:

Digital Europe Programme – Work programme 2025-2027

Information on funding under the Digital Europe Programme