AI and digital for the next generation

By 2030 there will be a global shortfall of 18 million health workers, with similar capacity gaps in social and education service systems. Only by integrating AI and digital technology into these systems can we bridge the capacity gap, meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and ensure universal health coverage for all.

From harnessing big data to ensuring equitable access to care, there is major potential for technology to transform young people’s health, making it much more predictive and personalised. Though this must be exercised with care and caution for societies and individuals to benefit equally.

With increasing populations moving to and growing in urban environments, data can allow governments, local authorities and healthcare providers to understand changes in demographics and gain a clearer picture of the wider population’s health needs. It can empower them with the information they need to predict epidemics, spot potential health triggers, improve quality of life, and avoid preventable deaths.

Our focus

Fondation Botnar is funding, co-creating, and scaling up AI and digital solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people by increasing care efficiency. We are prioritising the pooling and sharing of health data to help both care providers, and receivers, better understand their health needs. With better governance of health data that enables it to become a global public good, we have the opportunity to truly achieve health equity.

We see the opportunity to overcome the gap created by global shortages of health workers by investing in AI and digital solutions in order to improve efficiency and access to affordable, high quality care.

As a foundation we are working to deliver human-centered, integrated technological services that are both sustainable and scalable for the benefit of children and young people worldwide.

Equity and access

Despite making significant progress in improving health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people, there are still notable imbalances in terms of equity and access to care. We want to ensure that technologies can accelerate access to health promotion; that care and coverage are democratised, serving people in need; and that they aid rather than hinder health equity.

Dignified and fair technologies

Although AI and digital technology is already delivering and promising benefits for population health, there is still work to be done to ensure that it is developed and deployed responsibly. We understand the risks related to sharing and misuse, and the critical need to make sure these are addressed through better frameworks and regulation. To get there, collaboration between private and public sector actors is fundamental and we recognise our role in helping facilitate and mobilise these partnerships.

Governance of health data

AI is only effective with quality data. With the increasing digitisation and connectivity in the way we experience the world around us, we are experiencing a data explosion which presents an important opportunity in health. Without governance, there is a risk that self-interested groups take advantage and use collected data for commercial gain, malicious purposes by authoritarian regimes. We’re working at getting ahead of the curve, acting now to avoid this by working with partners and young people to advocate for the creation of a global governance framework, ensuring that health data becomes a global public good.