10.5 eHealth and health Internet domain names

Posted Fri, 2013-01-18 08:49

Key documents

  • eHealth and health Internet domain names (EB132/24)

Secretariat note

The Secretariat has prepared a document for consideration by the Board in response to requests by Member States for information on progress in implementation of resolution WHA58.28, in conjunction with information on standardization and interoperability in e-Health, on the exchange of health data; and on evaluation and impact assessment of e-Health, and in combination with an analysis of the public health challenges associated with the establishment of the dot health domain name. The Secretariat will also report on current initiatives to strengthen the protection of the name of WHO on the Internet. 

PHM comment pre-EB

Watch this space

Report of discussion

Australia and the US were wary of WHO seeking safeguards for internet health domain names because of limitations on oversight capacity and liability for WHO. The US stated that WHO has no special claim to the world ‘health’ and agreed with Australia for a paper to come to WHA, with the resolution to be put on hold. There was no consensus on the draft resolution. NGOs Medicus Mundi International/Health Innovation in Practice/Democratising Global Health coalition called on WHO and MS to take action to make sure that “.health” was managed in the interest of global public health. The DG stated that “.WHO” should be protected, but that WHO could only advise ICANN and had no authority on the allocation of “.health”. The DG thanked civil society for concerns raised – noting again that the applicants so far for the domain name “.health” are all commercial. The EB agreed to delay the draft resolution on “internet domain names related to health” to the WHA.

PHM comment post-EB

Watch this space

Other reports and commentary

Watch this space