October 02, 2026

AI is attracting new attention—and significant new investments—across global health. That momentum creates real opportunity, but technology alone will not improve health outcomes. Introduced without trusted institutions, sound policy, usable evidence, sustainable financing, and the capacity to integrate new tools into existing services, AI can deepen fragmentation and widen disparities rather than solve them. The article argues that countries need more than funding for a growing menu of AI applications. They need durable, country-owned mechanisms to compare those tools with one another and with other health priorities, decide what to introduce and when, and determine how promising approaches can be financed and sustained. AI can strengthen public judgment by making evidence and tradeoffs more visible; it cannot replace the people and institutions accountable for making those choices.