Health Diplomacy in the Age of AI

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies in conflict and health contexts offers significant potential to improve access, efficiency, and decision-making, but it also presents major challenges. In conflict-affected settings, essential infrastructure such as electricity, internet connectivity, and secure data systems is often damaged or unreliable, limiting the effectiveness of digital tools. Health data are frequently incomplete, fragmented, or biased, reducing the accuracy and safety of AI systems that depend on high-quality, representative datasets.

Ethical concerns are especially pronounced. The collection and use of sensitive health and personal data pose serious risks related to privacy, surveillance, and misuse, particularly in environments with weak governance and limited regulatory oversight. AI systems may also reproduce or exacerbate existing inequalities if they are developed using data from stable or high-income settings that do not reflect the realities of displaced or marginalized populations. Security risks, including cyberattacks and the potential dual use of digital technologies for military or political purposes, further threaten trust, neutrality, and the principles underpinning humanitarian action and health diplomacy.

Limited local technical capacity and insufficient training can result in overreliance on automated systems, undermining clinical judgment and local expertise. Cultural, linguistic, and social barriers may also reduce community acceptance of digital health solutions. Moreover, many AI initiatives in humanitarian health are donor-driven and short-term, raising concerns about sustainability, scalability, and long-term integration into fragile health systems.

Despite these barriers, enabling factors exist. Growing global attention to digital health governance, ethical AI, data protection, and health diplomacy provides opportunities for dialogue, coordination, and trust-building among states, humanitarian actors, and affected communities. When technologies are context-adapted, user-centered, and aligned with local needs, AI and digital tools can strengthen health system resilience even in conflict settings.