AI & Health: Building the Human Infrastructure for Global Health Security

AI can strengthen disease surveillance, outbreak prediction and emergency response, but its impact is dependent on strong human infrastructure and governance. This session explores workforce capacity, governance, trust, data stewardship, and partnerships needed for responsible AI implementation. Drawing on global health experiences and highlighting emerging methods and technology, it details strategies to advance equitable, sustainable AI for health security.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence has created unprecedented opportunities for disease surveillance, outbreak prediction, emergency response, and health system decision-making. Yet recent public health emergencies, including Ebola outbreaks and ongoing pandemic preparedness efforts demonstrate that technology alone cannot strengthen global health security. This session will explore the human infrastructure required for successful AI deployment, including workforce capacity, governance, community trust, digital literacy, data stewardship, implementation science, and cross-sector partnerships. Drawing lessons from pandemic response, disease surveillance initiatives, and emerging digital health programs, speakers will examine how countries can build systems that enable responsible and effective use of AI while protecting human rights and advancing health equity. Through perspectives from global health, technology, policy, academia, civil society, and frontline implementation, participants will discuss how investments in people, institutions, and partnerships can transform AI from a technical tool into a meaningful contributor to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. The discussion will identify recommendations for strengthening science diplomacy, international cooperation, and sustainable capacity-building in support of global health security and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

This session is highly relevant to the SDGs as it addresses the growing need to deploy AI responsibly in an era of increasing health threats, climate-related emergencies, and digital transformation. It directly supports SDG 3 by strengthening health systems through pandemic prevention and preparedness, as well as disease surveillance. It also SDG 10 by promoting equitable access to AI-enabled health solutions and, SDG 16 through governance, ethical data stewardship, and public trust. It encompasses SDG 17, through fostering international cooperation, science diplomacy, and cross-sector collaboration. The session is particularly timely as countries implement the commitments of the Pandemic Agreement, expand digital health and AI strategies, and respond to increasing demands for trustworthy AI governance.

By emphasizing workforce development, institutional capacity, community engagement, and international partnerships, it addresses a critical global challenge: ensuring that advances in AI translate into equitable, sustainable, and effective improvements in global health security rather than widening existing disparities. It examines how AI can be translated from promising technical innovations into real-world public health impact by identifying the workforce, data systems, implementation approaches, and evaluation frameworks needed for successful deployment. It also explores how lessons from disease surveillance, ebola response and pandemic preparedness can inform evidence-based AI integration. The session considers how governments and partners can develop governance frameworks, strengthen digital literacy, promote ethical data stewardship, build public trust and foster cross-sector collaboration through policy. It seeks to identify policy recommendations that support sustainable capacity-building, science diplomacy and international cooperation; ensuring AI contributes to resilient and equitable health systems, advancing global health security and the SDGs.

The session aims to provide insights on the key human, institutional, and governance capacities required for the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence in pandemic prevention, preparedness, response, and broader global health security. The discussion will generate shared lessons from recent public health emergencies and digital health initiatives on translating AI innovations into sustainable public health impact. This session also aims to promote partnerships through highlighting technical experts, global health leaders and emerging innovators in AI and digital health, with health protection and prevention capacity. Lastly, this session will develop recommendations for strengthening AI governance, workforce development, data stewardship, implementation science, and ethical frameworks that promote human rights, public trust, and health equity. It will also identify opportunities to strengthen science diplomacy and international cooperation in support of resilient health systems and the SDGs.