The World Health Organization South East Asia Regional Office (WHO SEARO) and the Indian School of Business (ISB) have partnered to develop a Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) Roadmap aimed at supporting the safe, ethical and effective adoption of AI across health systems in the South East Asia Region.

The collaboration seeks to provide governments with a structured framework for integrating AI into healthcare while ensuring patient safety, data privacy, transparency and accountability. The roadmap will help countries harness AI to strengthen public health systems, improve clinical decision making, expand access to healthcare services and enhance health system resilience without compromising ethical standards.

According to WHO SEARO, the initiative comes at a time when AI is rapidly transforming healthcare through applications in disease surveillance, medical imaging, diagnostics, clinical decision support, drug discovery and health administration. However, the organization emphasized that the deployment of AI must be guided by robust governance frameworks to address challenges related to bias, data security, equity and regulatory oversight.

The roadmap is expected to support the 11 Member States of the WHO South East Asia Region in developing national AI strategies aligned with global best practices. It will also provide policy recommendations on AI governance, workforce capacity building, digital infrastructure, interoperability and responsible innovation to ensure equitable adoption of AI technologies across diverse healthcare settings.

Healthcare experts believe AI has the potential to address persistent challenges such as shortages of healthcare professionals, delayed diagnosis and limited access to specialist care, particularly in low- and middle income countries. The global AI in healthcare market is projected to exceed USD 180 billion by 2030, driven by increasing investments in predictive analytics, digital health and precision medicine.

The initiative aligns with the WHO Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2025 and the organization’s guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Experts noted that establishing clear governance frameworks is essential to building trust, ensuring responsible innovation and enabling countries to maximize the benefits of AI while safeguarding patient rights.

The partnership between WHO SEARO and ISB marks an important step towards shaping responsible AI adoption across South East Asia, supporting countries in building more resilient, inclusive and technology enabled healthcare systems capable of meeting future public health challenges.