Digital Transformation in Public Health Surveillance: Lessons from Emerging Economies

Digital transformation has become an essential driver in strengthening public health surveillance systems, particularly in emerging economies where traditional methods often face limitations such as underreporting, fragmented data, and delayed response times. This examines the role of digital technologies—including mobile health (mHealth) tools, electronic health records (EHRs), geographic information systems (GIS), and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered analytics—in enhancing disease monitoring, outbreak detection, and response coordination in resource-constrained settings. Emerging economies are increasingly adopting digital platforms to improve data collection, real-time reporting, and decision-making, with notable examples from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Mobile-based reporting systems have enabled rapid case identification and follow-up, while cloud-based dashboards facilitate seamless information sharing across government agencies and health institutions. The integration of AI and machine learning algorithms with surveillance databases supports predictive modeling and early warning systems for infectious diseases such as COVID-19, dengue, and cholera. However, these advancements are not without challenges. Key barriers include limited digital infrastructure, workforce capacity gaps, concerns about data privacy, and fragmented governance frameworks. Furthermore, disparities in access to digital technologies between urban and rural regions may exacerbate health inequities. Despite these hurdles, the digital transformation of public health surveillance in emerging economies offers valuable lessons in agility, innovation, and community engagement. Successful models emphasize the importance of interoperable systems, public-private partnerships, and capacity-building initiatives to sustain digital surveillance efforts. This concludes that investments in scalable, inclusive, and secure digital technologies, alongside policy reforms and cross-sector collaboration, are critical for building resilient surveillance systems capable of addressing current and future public health threats in emerging economies. The insights gained offer practical guidance for other low- and middle-income countries seeking to modernize their surveillance capabilities.