Rwanda will test AI-powered technology in more than 50 health centers as part of a new Gates Foundation initiative to support 1,000 clinics across Africa to improve health services.
This technology aims to strengthen — not replace — clinical judgment , while improving the efficiency of a health system already under great pressure, Andrew Muhire, a senior official at the Rwandan Ministry of Health, told the Associated Press on Thursday.
Rwanda currently has one health professional for every 1,000 patients, a ratio well below the global recommendation of 4 per 1,000.
The Gates Foundation and OpenAI launched a new initiative on Wednesday called Horizons1000 , with joint funding of $50 million over two years. Bill Gates stated that this initiative would help reduce health inequalities.
"In poor countries facing severe shortages of health workers and a lack of health infrastructure, AI can be a game changer by expanding access to quality care ," Gates wrote in a blog post announcing the launch of the program.
Muhire described the initiative as a "transformative opportunity" that will improve citizens' access to healthcare, "reduce the administrative burden," and help medical professionals make "more accurate and faster" decisions .
However, digital experts are concerned about the use of AI technologies that rely on the English language , which is not widely spoken in Rwanda.
Audace Niyonkuru, CEO of the AI and open data company Digital Umuganda, told the AP that efforts are underway to develop AI technologies in Kinyarwanda , the language spoken by about 75% of the Rwandan population.
"The deployment of AI technologies that do not work in Kinyarwanda would constitute a serious obstacle to effective care ," he said.
