Feb 20, 2026 (Delhi, India)— In December 2025, at the Global Digital Health Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, Vital Strategies released the first consultative draft of “Foundations and Futures: Re-imagining Public Health in the Artificial Intelligence Era.” Informed by interviews with government leaders, digital health practitioners, and AI experts, the report offers a landscape scan of emerging AI use cases and assesses cross-country readiness, with a particular focus on the African continent.
Now, coinciding with the 2026 India AI Summit, Vital Strategies has released a revised edition of the report, incorporating additional insights and perspectives from Indian leaders on the evolving role of AI in strengthening health systems.
Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet, President and CEO, Vital Strategies said: “For the billions of people living in the Global South, AI has the opportunity to reshape public health systems and improve health outcomes for all. New applications that link data across sectors and sources are demonstrating how AI is driving faster detection, smarter planning and new ways of engaging with the public. But, adopting AI in public health also brings foundational, operational and implementation challenges. We must get ahead of these in order to act – and deliver – on the promise of AI.
The updated report, Foundations and Futures: Re-imagining Public Health in the Artificial Intelligence Era, highlights how AI’s promise for public health depends far less on the AI solutions themselves but rather on the foundations beneath them: such as data systems, governance, and institutional capacity and practices.
“Together, these insights reveal a consistent pattern: where core public health data and digital connectivity foundations are weak, actioning AI remains stuck in pilot. Where those foundations are strong—AI can be integrated responsibly and used to strengthen detection, planning and decision-making that better promotes health, protects our communities and prevents harm.
“New in this version, the report incorporates country-specific insights from engagement with senior government, implementation, and technical leaders in India, undertaken in the context of India’s evolving health AI strategy and global convening agenda.
AI is moving faster than the systems meant to support it. But together, we can action the strategies, structures, and systems we need to capture the promise of AI for public health.”
Read the full report here.