Op-ed: How AI can help bridge healthcare gaps worldwide

In a World Economic Forum article, Jayasree K. Iyer, CEO of the Access to Medicine Foundation, explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping healthcare, from clinical decision support to supply chain management.

With tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon now investing heavily in health AI, there is potential to improve care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet without action, these advances could reinforce – not reduce – global health inequities, Jayasree says.

AI tools are already helping clinicians make faster decisions and accelerating drug discovery. Initiatives backed by the Gates Foundation and OpenAI aim to expand access in Africa, beginning in Rwanda. However, major barriers remain.

Africa holds just 1.3% of global data-storage capacity, limiting compute power, while regulatory fragmentation and strict data-governance rules complicate deployment. A persistent data-representation gap, particularly in African languages, further risks excluding billions from AI-driven care, Jayasree writes.

She concludes that AI could transform global health, but equity will depend on inclusive design, infrastructure investment and a clear commitment from Big Tech to share the benefits more fairly.