openIMIS Newsletter December 2025

Welcome to our December 2025 newsletter! Many things have happened that we'd like to call your attention to:

Latest Highlights

Gender equity in tech is essential for stronger social protection systems
Learning exchange on AI in Health Insurance

In focus: Resources on AI

AI Hub offers expert advice on AI in social protection

Recent Activities and Events

UHC Day webinar examines AI solutions for health financing challenges
Bhela call: Mapping Indonesia’s complex health insurance business processes
AeHIN’s 2025 highlights: driving digital health innovation across Asia

This past year, the openIMIS initiative has seen strong growth: new countries implementing the software, new organizations becoming partners, and a growing community. The Initiative is grateful to the entire openIMIS community for your collaboration and support during 2025!

This special year-end newsletter edition focuses on several highlights, including the work of our partner organizations AeHIN and the AI Hub for Social Protection of the DCI, an article spotlighting women in tech in the openIMIS community, and the upcoming launch of the AI in health insurance e-learning course.

The openIMIS coordination desk would like to wish everyone a restful holiday season, and all the best for the new year!

Your openIMIS Coordination Desk Team

Latest Highlights

Gender equity in tech is essential for stronger social protection systems

Women play a vital yet often under-recognised role in designing and delivering the digital systems that underpin social protection and health financing systems. A new openIMIS article explores women’s experiences of working in tech, highlighting how gender gaps persist across technology disciplines and at different career stages. Drawing on a wide range of women’s voices from around the globe, the article shows why diversity in tech teams matters – not only for enhancing efficiency, but for building digital social protection solutions that are more inclusive and responsive to users’ needs.

The article also showcases how the openIMIS community, including regional partners such as AeHIN and KeHIA, is facilitating dialogue around diversity and inclusion in tech. From 2026, the Initiative plans to connect with other initiatives and networks working on this important topic.

If you or your organization would be interested in connecting with us, please reach out to contact@openIMIS.org. We look forward to working with you!

Read the full article on the Healthy DEvelopments platform.

Learning Exchange on AI in Health Insurance – learning for the future of health financing

How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) transform health insurance systems to make them more efficient, transparent, and inclusive? Since January 2025, Amref Health Africa, GIZ, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have been leading an innovative learning program to empower policymakers and practitioners with the skills to integrate AI responsibly into health financing.

Through collaborative learning exchanges, 25 experts from 13 countries – supported by global AI specialists – co-created practical solutions with the openIMIS AI Claims Adjudication solution serving as a real-world case study. This helped participants explore implementation strategies, from fraud detection to system optimization.

e-learning course to launch in January 2026

The program’s flagship e-learning course, "AI in Health Insurance," will launch as a free Digital Public Good in January 2026, offering adaptable training on topics ranging from AI fundamentals to data management, ethics, and implementation strategies. To share these insights, a UHC Day webinar hosted by ADB and in cooperation with Amref Health Africa and GIZ in December 2025 brought together over 110 global stakeholders to discuss AI’s role in shaping the future of health financing.

Ready to learn more? Discover how this initiative is paving the way for smarter, AI-driven health systems – and how you can get involved!

Find out more about the learning exchange and e-Learning course on our website.

In focus: Resources on AI

Expert help available for AI in social protection

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) grows, countries are grappling with the use of AI in social protection. In this context, the Digital Convergence Initiative has launched a new initiative called the AI Hub for Social Protection, introducing a concerted effort to harness AI in a way that is responsible, innovative and sovereign.

The AI Hub offers tailored advice and technical support to countries, leveraging a global network of experts to design and implement artificial intelligence for social protection. Countries that want to seek advice on the responsible use of AI are encouraged to get directly in touch with the AI Hub through the contact form.

Learn more:

The AI Hub is a global partnership, with close cooperation among six core implementing partners: the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ); the Ministry of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Construction Sector (BG BAU), the Federation of German Pension Insurance Institutions (DRV Bund), the International Social Security Association (ISSA), and Dataprev, the Social Security Information and Technology Enterprise of the Brazilian government.

openIMIS offers an AI powered solution

As part of the global software, openIMIS offers an AI-based claims adjudication solution. If you think this could be a good fit for your context, get in touch with contact@openimis.org.

Recent Activities and Events

UHC Day Webinar: AI solutions for health financing challenges | December 10

With 2 billion people worldwide facing financial hardship due to out-of-pocket health expenses (WHO), the urgency to transform health financing has never been greater. On December 10, 2025, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in collaboration with Amref Health Africa, and GIZ hosted a UHC Day webinar, "AI in Health Financing: Strengthening Systems for Universal Coverage." The event brought together global experts, policymakers, and practitioners to explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Public Goods – like the openIMIS AI Claims Adjudication solution– can optimize health insurance processes, reduce inefficiencies, and expand financial protection.

From keynote insights by AI specialist Simona Dobre, to real-world case studies from Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and the Philippines, the webinar highlighted practical strategies for AI adoption in health financing. A dynamic panel discussion, moderated by Rahul Kardapeta of Amref Health Africa, delved into key enablers for AI integration, regional collaboration, and ethical governance.

Missed the event? A full recording, presentation slides, and a summary will be available in early 2026, along with details on the upcoming e-learning course on AI in Health Insurance.

Mapping Indonesia's complex health insurance business processes | November 26

At the November 2025 Bhela meeting, Anis Fuad, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, and Dr. Lukman Heryawan from the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, both at the Universitas Gadjah Mada, presented an in-depth analysis of Indonesia’s National Health Insurance scheme (JKN). JKN administered by BPJS Kesehatan, is one of the world’s largest universal health coverage programs, currently covering 98.8% of the population – approximately 282 million people. Supported by AeHIN and GIZ, the collaboration with the Universitas Gadjah Mada illustrates the value of a two-way partnership between openIMIS and academic institutions: openIMIS provides hands-on learning opportunities for students of health financing and computer science, while academic teams often contribute testing, analysis and innovations that support the evolution of openIMIS.

Read the full write-up to learn more about this emerging win-win collaboration.

AeHIN's 2025 highlights: driving digital health innovation across Asia

In 2025, the Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN) continued to strengthen its role as a key partner of openIMIS, advancing digital health transformation through capacity building, research, and knowledge exchange. AeHIN’s activities focused on academic collaboration, community of practice development, and regional events, fostering innovation in health financing and interoperability.

One standout initiative was the webinar on "The Role of Digital Health for UHC Financing in Indonesia", featuring Prof. Dr. Ali Ghufron Mukti, President Director of BPJS Kesehatan, Indonesia’s national health insurance administrator. With 166 participants, the session highlighted how digitalization and data interoperability have streamlined Indonesia’s Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) program, reducing wait times and improving service delivery. AeHIN also supported academic integration of openIMIS in institutions like San Beda University (Philippines) and Kathmandu University (Nepal), equipping future health professionals with hands-on experience in health financing and digital systems.

In Nepal, AeHIN helped establish a Virtual Interoperability Lab at Tribhuvan University, fostering collaboration between academia, government, and industry. Meanwhile, in Lao PDR, AeHIN, together with Tinker Tech, conducted a functional assessment of openIMIS for the National Health Insurance Bureau (NHIB), recommending customizations to enhance offline capabilities, mobile integration, and workflow alignment. These efforts reflect AeHIN’s commitment to scalable, context-appropriate digital health solutions that support Universal Health Coverage (UHC) across Asia.

To learn more about the spectrum and depth of AeHIN contributions, check out the following documentation links on AeHIN Country Hub Reports, and AeHIN Webinars and Events.

Read the newsletter on our LinkedIn