To build the trust needed to fully unlock artificial intelligence’s benefits for global health and ensure it is used responsibly, safely, and ethically, we must reinforce its foundation. That foundation is based on strong health data governance.
AI and digitalization are reshaping health care, with the potential to help detect diseases earlier, improve treatment, and ease workloads for health workers. But the rapid — and largely unregulated — scale-up of these technologies introduces risks, including errors, bias, privacy concerns, and unclear accountability.
The upcoming 2026 World Health Assembly can advance global action on the responsible governance of health data and AI. The WHA is well positioned to build on and expand the global relevance and applicability across all country income levels, including from work in Europe and by the OECD, current efforts of Africa CDC, as well as other regional and national experiences and expertise. As a space for member states to discuss pressing global concerns, WHA is an important opportunity for a critical and overdue discussion on what is needed to strengthen the governance of health data and AI.