About WHO
Our primary role is to direct and coordinate international health within the United Nations system. Our main areas of work are health systems; health through the life-course; noncommunicable and communicable diseases; preparedness, surveillance and response; and corporate services.Activities by WHO
Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health (FG-AI4H)
Global Not ApplicableThe FG-AI4H was run from 2018 to 2023 as a collaboration between ITU and WHO and pioneered a standardized assessment framework for the evaluation of AI-based methods for health, diagnosis, triage and treatment decisions. It developed 36 deliverables providing developers guidance under four pillars: (1) ethics, (2) regulations, (3) technology and (4) clinical evaluation and 15 use cases. Its work is continued under the Global Initiative on AI for Health co-organized by ITU, WHO and WIPO, expanding the guidance to a wider audience, countries and regulators in particular.
Activity Type Research/Reports/AssessmentsPolicy/Regulatory GuidanceNetworks/Mentorship/ExchangeAI Engine for Decision Making in Ebola Crisis
Africa Democratic Republic of the CongoUNU Macau and Umeå University are leading an international consortium and delivering an AI engine for urgent decision-making during the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. By uniting epidemiologists, anthropologists, and AI scientists, the tool provides evidence-based insights to lower transmission rates, enhance care quality, and protect healthcare workers.
Activity Type AI Tools/SolutionsSpotlight Initiative – Mining Gender Perceptions from Public Radio Discussions
Africa UgandaThis project uses an AI-powered public radio social listening tool to mine data on perceptions around Gender Based Violence (GBV), Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), Harmful Practices (HP), Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR), and Violence Against Children (VAC). The data provides insights for timely and targeted interventions. Radio remains the most popular source of information in Uganda, used by different people irrespective of their demographics. Radio shows allow two-way communication between radio studios and people in the community through call-ins, making them a rich representation of the people that are digitally marginalized.
Activity Type AI Tools/SolutionsResearch/Reports/AssessmentsGlobal Initiative on Artificial Intelligence for Health (GI-AI4H)
Global Not Applicable
The GI-AI4H is a global collaboration initiative led by ITU, WHO, and WIPO, dedicated to ensuring that AI improves health outcomes ethically and equitably. Its work is centered on three pillars:
• Enable: Develop International standards, governance, and ethical frameworks for safe use of AI in Health.
• Facilitate: Promote knowledge and data sharing, foster multi-stakeholder partnerships and strengthen global cooperation.
• Implement: Support scalable real-world deployment of AI in health, especially in low-resource settings.
The initiative delivers benchmarking tools, policy guidance, innovation insights, and best practices to build trusted AI-enabled health systems and its ultimate goal is to make AI-driven healthcare trustworthy, inclusive, sustainable, and accessible worldwide.