Recognizing that the translation of AI from research environments to sustained, equitable, and impactful deployment remains largely unrealized in low- and middle-income country health systems, WHO and the Max Institute of Healthcare Management (MIHM) at the Indian School of Business (ISB) signed a Project Collaboration Agreement to advance the responsible, scalable, and evidence-driven adoption of digital health and AI, through the integrated elements of research, infrastructure development, and capacity building across WHO South-East Asia Region. The collaboration responds to three interconnected challenges that constrain real-world impact: the absence of actionable guidance for state-level decision-making, constrained implementation and evaluation capacity, and a fragmented stakeholder ecosystem.
The Max Institute of Healthcare Management (MIHM) at the Indian School of Business is an interdisciplinary centre dedicated to strengthening health systems through research, capacity building, and leadership engagement across policy, public institutions, and industry. The Institute generates evidence on healthcare delivery, with a particular focus on the private sector and the public–private interface, to inform policy and improve health outcomes. Drawing on expertise in healthcare and management, its faculty and researchers undertake interdisciplinary studies using diverse methodologies across a wide range of disease areas and health system challenges.
The objectives of the collaboration between WHO and the Max Institute of Healthcare Management at the ISB are to:
- Develop a structured AI decision-making framework for LMIC contexts
Develop a framework that provides step-by-step guidance for evaluating the operational suitability of AI solutions for diverse clinical contexts. The framework will be validated through retrospective assessment of solutions previously deployed and prospective testing of solutions under consideration for deployment. The framework will be aligned with relevant WHO normative work, including outputs of the WHO working group on the Clinical Evaluation of AI for Health, and will be made publicly available as a global public good. - Generate a primary evidence base on AI implementation in LMIC health systems
Execute a tiered portfolio of fully deployed implementation studies designed to assess operational feasibility, systems integration, clinical decision-making, and user behavior — with both short term pilots alongside longer-term studies powered to measure sustained impact on defined clinical and health system outcomes. All scientific evidence generated will be made publicly available and submitted for peer review in collaboration with WHO-SEARO. - Build a sustained partnership infrastructure to enable AI deployment at scale
Conduct active, year-round outreach and facilitation of partnerships with state governments, technology innovators, and implementing institutions to create an ecosystem that can align stakeholder priorities and co-develop proposals grounded in real deployment needs and structured for implementation. - Build public and private sector capacity for aligning AI priorities, planning, and governance
Conduct capacity-building workshops to equip government officials and, where appropriate, civil-society and academic actors with the skills and toolkits required for safe and sustainable AI deployment. A core focus will include supporting state governments in identifying and prioritizing their AI needs by helping them determine where AI can add the greatest value within their health programmes and plan and budget accordingly.
This collaboration builds on WHO SEARO's work in supporting Member States to strengthen digital health governance and adopt AI for health responsibly. Through the integrated elements of research, infrastructure development, and capacity building, the engagement will help align stakeholder priorities, generate the evidence base needed for informed decision-making, and build the capabilities required to operationalize national digital health commitments across the Region. The Agreement is valid for an initial period of two years, commencing 1 July 2026 and ending 30 June 2028.