NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – Global health leaders called for a country-led approach to artificial intelligence in disease elimination during a UN General Assembly event in New York. The session brought together health ministers, funders, diagnostics leaders and public health experts. The Global Institute for Disease Elimination, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and the Government of Nigeria co-hosted the meeting. Participants focused on how AI can improve disease surveillance, support health decisions and direct limited resources toward priority needs.
Michael Adekunle Charles, CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, delivered remarks on behalf of Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate. The remarks emphasized national control over decisions on how health systems adopt new technologies. Nigeria is also implementing its Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which covers primary healthcare and domestic health financing. Participants said national priorities, health system capacity and local conditions should guide the deployment of AI tools.
The meeting examined the infrastructure needed to expand AI use in public health. Areas discussed included data systems, workforce capacity, health system integration and financing for viable programs. The latest World Health Organization malaria assessment estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths worldwide in 2024. The WHO African Region continues to carry the largest share of the global burden. Nigeria recorded the highest estimated number of malaria cases among countries in the region.
AI training programs target public health leaders
GLIDE announced two AI training programs aimed at national program managers and public health professionals. Its GLIDE Leadership Excellence in AI for Health program targets senior health decision-makers and will run in Abu Dhabi from January 17 to 22, 2027. The inaugural residential cohort will include 25 to 30 participants. The program focuses on AI governance, deployment decisions, institutional readiness and accountability rather than teaching participants to build AI models.
A second initiative, AI for All, was developed by Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and tailored with GLIDE for public health professionals. The online course contains four modules and requires no coding experience or technical background. Its curriculum covers AI fundamentals, generative AI tools, bias, privacy, accountability and human oversight. The program is designed to give health professionals practical knowledge for evaluating and using AI within public health organizations.
GLIDE and RBM formalize malaria cooperation
GLIDE and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria also signed a letter of mutual understanding during the New York session. The framework connects technical expertise, AI, innovation and capacity-building programs with national malaria priorities. It focuses on supporting country-led malaria control and elimination efforts. The cooperation also aligns with the World Health Organization’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria, which guides international efforts to reduce malaria cases and deaths through 2030.
Participants also discussed the use of AI in tackling malaria, polio and neglected tropical diseases while health and humanitarian budgets face financial pressure. The meeting centered on stronger surveillance, more targeted interventions and better use of available resources. Organizers placed national health authorities at the center of decisions on technology adoption and implementation. The combination of training, technical cooperation and country-level leadership formed the main focus of the initiative announced during the UN General Assembly gathering.