Role of AI and Innovative Finance in the Future of Global Health

Geneva, Switzerland, 6 May 2025 - The Health Innovation Exchange (HIEx) is calling for scaling investments in innovation and technology, including AI, to address the significant disparities in access to healthcare globally. To advance this agenda, HIEx is convening a series of high-level roundtables titled "Turning the Tide: Leveraging AI and Innovative Finance for Healthcare Resilience" on 20 May 2025 at the Hotel Intercontinental in Geneva. With a strong focus on low- and middle-income countries, the discussions will identify ways to leverage private investment for public health outcomes.
"Countries have an opportunity to scale access to healthcare at a speed - and cost - that was unthinkable even ten years ago," said Pradeep Kakkattil, Chief Executive Officer of HIEx. "Technology and innovation - from AI-enabled diagnostics to telemedicine to new therapies - can help overcome some of the biggest pain points in healthcare, including the shortage of trained human resources. These solutions can extend the reach of health systems and deliver quality care at low cost, especially in underserved and remote communities."
The 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78), to be held in Geneva from 19-25 May, brings together ministers of health and other high-level country representatives and serves as a critical platform for addressing global health challenges. Globally, there has been a significant decline in financing for global health, with traditional donors reducing their aid budgets. This growing funding gap puts additional pressure on low- and middle-income countries to find sustainable and cost-effective approaches to strengthen their health systems.
"The world is seeing a huge stepping back from traditional aid and there is an urgent need to rethink global health financing," said Mr Kakkattil. "Meeting this challenge will require innovative financing - including new models that blend public, private, and philanthropic capital - to unlock resources and scale solutions that deliver real impact, and HIEx is happy to provide its platform to discuss and plan such solutions."
Special HIEx sessions on 20 May 2025 include:
• Rethinking Innovative Financing: Digital Health Innovation Investment Platform - Unpacking the potential of digital solutions with the WHO Foundation and WHO Digital Health.
• Innovate to Scale: Bending the Curve on Health and MNCH SDGs - A UNICEF co-hosted session on maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH).
• The AI Dividend - Creating More with Less in Global Health - Exploring the deployment of AI in healthcare and climate resilience with Qure.ai.
• Scaling NCD Care with Medtronic LABS - Co-hosted session spotlighting experiences from Kenya, Bangladesh, and India in expanding non-communicable disease services.
• Reimagining Global Health Through Traditional Medicine and Ethnopharmaceutics with the WHO Global Center for Traditional Medicine
• Leveraging private investment for public health and launch of the Sigmastack fund with Symbiotics
• Innovative Financing for Ending Tuberculosis with the Stop TB Partnership
A special spotlight will also be on the Women in Innovation Fund (WiNFUND) - co-founded by HIEx, Reckitt, and the Kofi Annan Foundation - which will mark the graduation of its second cohort of female health entrepreneurs from Africa. With over 90% of the frontline health workforce made up of women, WiNFUND advocates for equitable access to capital for women-led ventures that are transforming healthcare from the ground up.
The roundtables will also feature discussions on AI for mental health, spotlighting the Global Center for AI in Mental Health, a joint initiative by the University of New York in Albany (SUNY), SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, and HIEx. The initiative is working to harness the power of AI to expand access to mental health services and develop evidence-based tools tailored to the realities of LMICs.
The event will also host a Marketplace of Innovations for Health, showcasing cutting-edge, scalable solutions from around the world that address real-world challenges across prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and health system delivery - with a focus on affordability, sustainability, and equity.
For more information, visit: https://hiex.ch/wha78

HIEx, Av. de Sécheron 15, 1202 Genève, Switzerland
Press contact: Jurijs Svirko, svirko@hiex.ch, +37127890456

About HIEx
The Health Innovation Exchange (HIEx) is a multilayered international platform that brings together policymakers, innovators, and investors to scale health solutions and build climate resilience in low- and middle-income countries. It supports the identification and deployment of impactful health innovations in alignment with country needs. Since its inception in 2018, HIEx has spotlighted over 100 innovations, several of which have grown to become leading global health solutions.
Media inquiries and accreditation: comms@hiex.ch

This release was published on openPR.