Ms. Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India
Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Govt of India
Ms. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Mr. Shankar Maruwada, CEO, EKStep Foundation
Ms. Shikha Dahiya, Joint Director, IndiaAI
Ms. Gouri Gupta, Senior Director (EdTech), Central Square Foundation
Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Partners and Colleagues
Good morning. I am pleased to join you at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, for the launch of this Casebook on AI Health Use Cases Across the Global South.
This publication is the result of close collaboration among governments, innovators, researchers, and global partners to document how artificial intelligence is already supporting health systems across low- and middle-income countries.
Public health has achieved remarkable milestones over the decades, from the eradication of smallpox to the near eradication of polio. Yet today, health systems face new pressures: rising disease burdens, persistent inequities in access to care, workforce shortages, and increasing complexity in service delivery.
These challenges require new tools and new forms of collaboration.
Artificial intelligence is emerging as one of those tools. It has moved from promise to practice in health systems, as demonstrated in this casebook, including applications in diagnostics, disease surveillance, decision support, and patient engagement.
While much of the global conversation on AI focuses on future possibilities, this compendium documents real-world implementation.
It shows how countries are already using AI to support health workers, strengthen surveillance, expand diagnostic capacity, and improve access to care in underserved communities.
It shows that innovation is not limited to high-income settings. Many of the most practical and scalable solutions are emerging from the Global South, where countries are innovating under resource constraints to improve care, increase access, and strengthen public health functions.
At the same time, we must be clear: the power of these technologies must be accompanied by ethical stewardship, robust governance and regulation, and a firm commitment to human rights. WHO’s normative and technical guidance on the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health affirms that these cannot be an afterthought—they must be at the heart of design, deployment, and use of these technologies.
To guide policymakers, developers, health professionals, and all stakeholders in the AI ecosystem, WHO has articulated six core ethical principles.
First, we must uphold and protect human autonomy. AI should augment human decision-making, not replace it. Individuals’ rights to privacy, informed consent, and control over their health data must always be protected.
Second, AI must promote human well-being, safety, and the public interest. Technologies that pose risks to safety or undermine quality of care cannot be justified. Rigorous evidence of benefit should accompany their adoption.
Third, ethical AI must be transparent, explainable, and intelligible. Clinicians, patients, policymakers, and communities must be able to understand how an AI system works in practice, what data it uses, and how decisions or recommendations are generated. Trust is built on clarity and understanding.
Fourth, AI governance must include responsibility and accountability. Those who design and deploy these technologies must be answerable for their impacts, and redress mechanisms must exist.
Fifth, AI must be inclusive and equitable. These technologies should not deepen existing disparities. They should be designed and evaluated to ensure that underserved, marginalised, and vulnerable populations benefit equitably...
Finally, AI should be responsive and sustainable. Systems must be adaptable to changing health needs, resilient in diverse environments, and mindful of broader societal and environmental impacts.
These principles provide a roadmap not only for technical development, but also for policies, regulations, and governance.
This casebook puts these principles into practice. It offers concrete, context-specific examples of how ethics, governance, and practical AI use intersect across health systems in the Global South. Governments and partners can draw from these experiences to design AI strategies that are both innovative and human-centred.
As WHO, we are committed to supporting countries in strengthening their AI governance frameworks, building technical and ethical capacity, and promoting evidence-based, responsible adoption of AI in health.
I would like to commend and thank the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India, and the many partners, experts, and innovators who have contributed to this compendium. Your efforts have enabled shared learning and will help move the global community from promise to practice.
Let me close with this thought: artificial intelligence will not replace health workers, but it can empower them.
Our collective responsibility is to ensure that AI strengthens health systems, advances equity, builds public trust, and contributes meaningfully to Universal Health Coverage across our Region.
Thank you.