Global health organisation, Vital Strategies launched a new report at the 79th World Health Assembly, warning that while artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly across healthcare systems, with many countries in the Global South unprepared to translate that momentum into equitable public health outcomes.
The report, Foundations & Futures: Reimagining Public Health in the Artificial Intelligence Era Across the Global South, argues that the world risks creating a new form of health inequality — one where countries without strong digital infrastructure, reliable data systems and trained health workforces are left behind as AI-driven healthcare accelerates elsewhere.
”AI is moving faster than the systems meant to support it. But across the Global South, accelerated progress is possible,” said Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet, President and CEO of Vital Strategies. “Billions of people live in data deserts, in countries or regions without the foundational data and digital systems that enable promising AI innovations to scale up.
The report reviewed 83 countries using publicly available data from institutions including the World Health Organization, the International Telecommunication Union and the Global Digital Health Monitor. Its findings paint a picture of uneven progress: governments are increasingly adopting AI policies, but many lack the underlying systems needed to deploy these technologies safely and effectively.
Fewer than one-third of the countries reviewed have national AI policies that explicitly address healthcare. Even in regions showing rapid policy adoption, implementation gaps remain substantial. Nearly 70% of countries in South and Southeast Asia have adopted AI strategies, yet many still face inconsistent digital infrastructure, fragmented health records and poor interoperability between systems.
Connectivity remains another major obstacle. The report found wide disparities in internet access and affordability, with average connectivity scores standing at 59 in Africa, compared with 74 in South and Southeast Asia, 80 in South America and 88 in the Middle East. Researchers noted that stronger connectivity is essential because AI-enabled health systems depend on the continuous movement and exchange of reliable health data.
The report also highlighted a less visible but equally critical issue: health data availability. In many African countries, recent data exists for only 62% of health-related Sustainable Development Goal indicators on average. Without complete datasets, AI systems risk producing inaccurate or biased outputs that may reinforce existing healthcare inequities.
Interoperability — the ability of different health systems to exchange and interpret data — also remains weak across much of the Global South. Only 15 of 59 countries reporting interoperability data had reached advanced maturity phases, limiting the ability of hospitals, clinics and public health agencies to share information effectively.
Perhaps most concerning is the shortage of trained personnel able to manage and govern AI tools within healthcare systems. According to the report, only 8% of African countries and 8% of South and Southeast Asian countries have integrated advanced digital health training into workforce development programmes. This means many frontline health workers lack the skills needed to implement or oversee AI technologies safely in clinical and public health settings.
For global health experts, the findings reinforce a growing concern that AI could deepen inequality unless countries strengthen public systems before scaling technological solutions.
Among the report’s recurring themes was the issue of governance and sovereignty. Interviews with health ministers, regional organisations and policy leaders across Africa, Asia and Latin America revealed concerns that countries may become overly dependent on foreign vendors and donors if governments do not retain control over their own health data infrastructure.
“Countries in this report are already using AI to save lives, but they didn’t get there by chasing the latest tool,” said Pedro de Paula. “They got there by investing in unglamorous foundations: data systems, governance, connectivity and workforce capacity.”
Rather than focusing solely on pilot projects or isolated digital tools, the report urges governments and funders to shift toward long-term infrastructure financing. That includes strengthening national health information systems, improving digital public infrastructure, building workforce capacity and creating governance mechanisms that protect public trust and national ownership of data.
The report outlines three guiding principles for countries seeking to integrate AI into public health systems responsibly: ensuring sustainable financing and workforce development, strengthening public governance and accountability, and investing in inclusive, interconnected health data systems.
The message from the World Health Assembly was clear: AI may transform healthcare, but without strong public systems underneath it, technological progress alone will not close global health gaps. Instead, experts warn, it could widen them.
Download the report here: https://innovation.vitalstrategies.org/foundations-futures-report/
