Artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced rapidly over the past decade, becoming more complex, efficient, and widely used across many industries. Healthcare has emerged as one of the sectors most significantly transformed by AI technologies. These innovations are helping improve the speed and accuracy of disease diagnosis, support clinical decision-making, and strengthen public health initiatives such as disease surveillance and workforce management. AI also offers opportunities for individuals to better manage their own health and wellbeing. However, an important concern remains regarding who benefits from these technologies, who may face risks, and whether AI-driven innovations help reduce or potentially widen existing health inequities.
Despite the promising potential of AI in healthcare, many countries remain cautious about adopting these technologies. Concerns include issues such as algorithmic bias, risks of data breaches, privacy violations, and the possibility that over-reliance on AI could weaken professional skills among healthcare workers. Additional challenges include limited data infrastructure and insufficient evidence on the most effective ways to implement AI tools within health systems. The rapid development of generative AI has further increased the urgency for clear governance structures, ethical guidelines, and regulatory frameworks to ensure safe and responsible use.
To address these issues, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), through its Health Practice Team and Digital Sector, is collaborating with the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific to organize the Forum on Harnessing AI for Health Equity on 25–26 March at ADB Headquarters. The forum will bring together senior health officials from sixteen developing member countries, along with researchers, innovators, and policymakers from across Asia and the Pacific. The event aims to explore how AI can be effectively governed, financed, and scaled to improve health outcomes and promote equitable access to healthcare. The forum is supported by funding from the High-Level Technology Fund with assistance from the Government of Japan.
The two-day forum seeks to identify practical and evidence-based AI applications that could benefit health systems, particularly in resource-constrained settings. It also aims to introduce and validate policy guidance developed by the World Health Organization to help countries assess their readiness to adopt AI technologies. Participants will be encouraged to commit to a pilot regional initiative focused on data and model sharing to address priority health challenges. In addition, the forum intends to develop actionable policy recommendations that focus on governance, regulation, and sustainable financing mechanisms needed to scale impactful AI solutions in healthcare.
Participants will include representatives from sixteen developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank, as well as experts from government institutions, academia, the private sector, civil society organizations, development partners, and philanthropic institutions from across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. The discussions will examine the role of AI across the healthcare system, including its impact on access to care, workforce readiness, financing mechanisms, regulatory approaches, and regional collaboration. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, the forum aims to build partnerships and create a pathway for responsible and equitable use of AI technologies in health systems.
The event will take place in a hybrid format, allowing both in-person and online participation. While in-person attendance is limited to invited participants, the forum will be livestreamed for public audiences. Interested individuals can register for virtual participation through Zoom before 24 March 2026.
