The World Health Organization and the International Telecommunication Union are inviting comments on the draft Reference Architecture Guidance for Digital Public Infrastructure for Health (DPI-H).
The guidance sets out a common reference architecture to help countries plan, finance and implement national digital health infrastructure aligned with priority health sector goals. This public review is an opportunity to strengthen the guidance before publication, and your input is warmly welcomed.
We are seeking feedback from those involved in planning, governing, building and financing digital health infrastructure – including ministries of health, DPI authorities, enterprise and solution architects, procurement teams, development partners, and the clinical, public health and standards communities – across low-, middle- and high-income settings.
What we are seeking
We welcome comment on the clarity, completeness, technical soundness and practical usefulness of the guidance, and on how well it applies to different country contexts. The themes set out below indicate the areas where your feedback would be most valuable. You are welcome to comment on any aspect of the draft, whether or not it falls within them
How to submit your feedback
Two channels are available. Please use whichever suits the nature of your feedback, and submit through one channel only.
- Comment matrix (recommended for detailed or technical feedback). Download the comment matrix here, complete it using one row per comment, and email the completed file to smart+dpih@who.int
- Online form (for shorter or general feedback). Submit your comments via this online form.
Referencing the text
The review version of the document carries continuous line numbers and numbered sections. For each comment, please cite both the section number and the line number(s), together with the page. Precise references allow every comment to be located and considered efficiently.
Timeline
The consultation is open for eight weeks, from 9 July 2026 to 6 September 2026. Comments received after the closing date may not be possible to consider.
Areas for your feedback
The following themes indicate the feedback we are seeking. The full set of guiding questions is provided in the online form and in the comment matrix.
- Overall relevance and usability – whether the purpose, scope and intended audience are clear, and the level of detail is right for its readers.
- Architecture and concepts – whether the core architectural choices are clear and sound: the DPI-F/DPI-H distinction, the two-layer architecture, the set of DPI-H components, REDDHI, the mapping of components to the seven health goals, interoperability and semantic governance, and conformance and testing.
How your feedback will be used
All comments will be compiled into a single log and considered by the editorial team, and will inform revisions ahead of publication, which is expected by end of 2026. While every comment will be reviewed, not all suggestions can be incorporated.
Comments will not be attributed: no view, quotation or point drawn from a submission will be linked to a named individual or organization in the published guidance.
Contributors whose feedback is substantive and helps to shape the final guidance may, separately, be recognized in the acknowledgements. This recognition is distinct from the comments themselves, which remain non-attributed, and is included only with the contributor’s agreement. To support this, and to allow any conflicts of interest to be identified and managed, reviewers are asked to provide their name, affiliation and country; contributors who are to be acknowledged may be asked to complete a declaration of interests in line with WHO policy. Aggregated or anonymized information about who took part may also be reported.
Data protection
The personal data you provide through this consultation – such as your name, organization, country and email address will be processed by the World Health Organization only to administer the consultation, consolidate feedback, contact you for clarification where you have agreed, and – where you agree – recognize your contribution in the acknowledgements (name, affiliation and country) and manage any conflicts of interest. Providing these details is optional: you may take part without giving contact information, although we may then be unable to follow up with you. Your data will not be sold or shared with third parties. It will be handled in line with WHO's Privacy policy, which this notice complements with detail specific to this consultation. You may request access to, correction or removal of your personal data, or withdraw it from the consultation, by contacting smart+dpih@who.int. Personal data will be retained only for as long as needed for the consultation and its records, and then deleted or anonymized.
Thank you for contributing your expertise to this guidance. For any questions about the consultation, please contact smart+dpih@who.int copying leitnerc@who.int.