The Digital Health Companion (DHC) is an AI-enabled chatbot developed by the Joint Learning Network’s (JLN) Digital Health Collaborative. Launched in 2025, the DHC provides an interactive, dynamic, and user-friendly way for JLN members and the global health community to access curated digital health resources. It is accessible via the JLN website and does not require a user sign-in. Contributors and collaborators for the co-development of the Digital Health Companion include: Siti Nurbaya Shahrir (Ministry of Health, Malaysia); Antensay Amare Feleke (Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopia); Julia Ouko (National Health Insurance Fund, Kenya); Evalyne Khamasi (National Health Insurance Fund, Kenya); Diana Kamar (Ministry of Health, Kenya); Anis Fuad (Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia); and Mouhamed SY (Agency of Health Universal Coverage, Senegal). Facilitation of co-development for this was provided by Marelize Goergens (Senior Health Specialist, World Bank), Mahesh Nayak (Strategy Officer, World Bank), with support from Mahlet Gizaw (JLN Health Specialist, World Bank) and Somil Nagpal (Lead Health Specialist, World Bank).
The DHC provides information on key digital health topics: Interoperability, Digital Health Governance, Data Science / Health Informatics, Cybersecurity, Digital Health Financing & Procurement, Health & AI / Machine Learning, Maturity Toolkits, Electronic Medical Records, Digital Health Policy & Strategy, Data Standards, and Software as a Medical Device (SaMD).
The DHC uses a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) approach: 1) Retrieval: When a user asks a question, the system searches its curated knowledge base (including reports, blogs, and video transcripts); 2) Generation: It then uses large language models (LLMs) to generate a conversational, natural-language response, blending retrieved data with AI-generated text; 3) Citations: All responses include citations for easy verification and transparency. This approach ensures that answers are accurate, up-to-date, and based only on quality-assured resources added by DHC authors. The DHC simple chat window provides multilingual support with follow-up question suggestions, FAQ/help, and feedback options. Only resources from trusted organizations (e.g., international agencies, governments, and academic journals) are included. All additions and removals follow a structured review process. No personal data is collected from users. All data is managed according to JLN’s cloud security protocols. A user guide for the DHC is available in the video HERE.
The facilitation team leveraged the platform used for the DHC and created an agent—the JLN Companion, trained on the Joint Learning Network and its publicly available knowledge products. The pilot version of the JLN companion is available HERE. Please provide feedback on the JLN companion directly in the JLN companion using the thumbs up or down feature on the response it provides, or by contacting the team.
Contact: For issues or suggestions, users can contact: [email protected].
Technical facilitation is provided by the World Bank in partnership with the Gates Foundation and the Digital Health Exemplars Program, including the Center for Global Digital Health Innovation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, eHealth Lab Ethiopia, and the McKinsey Health Institute. Financial support from the Gates Foundation and the Government of Japan is gratefully acknowledged.
