Measuring Impact: How Do We Know AI Is Improving Health Outcomes and Addressing Local Priorities in Global Health?

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in health systems, how can we know whether these tools are delivering meaningful health benefits? AI tools can be updated and redeployed faster than the evidence validating them, raising the question of whether current evaluation frameworks are built for the speed of adoption.

This session explores what rigorous impact assessments for AI tools should address. Key questions include: How do we comprehensively evaluate whether these tools deliver meaningful health benefits? How should we think about data ownership, accountability, and sovereignty? How can we design evaluation frameworks that are both locally relevant and rigorously sound? The conversation will connect these frameworks to the broader needs of health systems. We will discuss how governments and donors can leverage evaluations to make evidence-based decisions and embed accountability into the scale-up process.

Hosted by the Harvard Global Health Institute and co-organized by the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School.

This webinar is free and open to the public and will conclude with a live Q&A session.

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Speakers

Jude Kong, B.Ed., B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., CRC, MRSC  

Executive Director, Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Modelling Lab (AIMM Lab), University of Toronto
Executive Director, Global South AI for Pandemic and Epidemic Preparedness and Response Network (AI4PEP)

Prof. Kong, Canada Research Chair in Community-Oriented AI and Mathematical Modeling at the University of Toronto and member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), pioneers equitable, mathematical and AI-driven solutions for global health crises. He founded and directs AI4PEP, ACADIC, AIMMLab, and REASURE2, advancing community-led innovation across the Global South and Canada. With 201+ publications and multiple awards, including the 2025 DLSPH’s Excellence in Research, he shapes health policy, empowers underrepresented STEM scholars, and drives inclusive, Southern-led scientific collaboration.

Chaitali Sinha, M.A.

Senior Program Specialist at International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Chaitali Sinha is a Senior Program Specialist in the Global Health Division at Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). She has over 20 years of experience with research for development in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East, with a focus on global health, sexual and reproductive health, and rights, health information systems, refugee health, feminist research and gender analysis, and digital innovation. Chaitali has published peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and blogs on issues of gender and digital health, health equity, gender transformative research, and health systems strengthening. She holds a Master of Arts in International Development Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems

About the Global Health Coffee Sessions

The Global Health Coffee Sessions is a virtual series of timely conversations on wide-ranging topics at the intersection of health, policy, and global cooperation. The series brings together global health experts, policymakers, and practitioners from Harvard and beyond for dynamic, forward-looking discussions.

All sessions are hosted virtually via Zoom, recorded, and available afterward on our YouTube Channel.

The Harvard Global Health Institute provides a platform for different perspectives and debates within the field of global health through a variety of media. The views expressed in these events and programs are solely those of the speakers, authors, researchers, and participating audience. As such, they do not speak for the institute or the university.