The Gates Foundation and OpenAI have announced a $50 million partnership to help African countries use artificial intelligence to strengthen health systems, aiming to improve access to quality care in regions facing severe medical workforce shortages.
The initiative, named Horizon1000, will begin in Rwanda and expand across multiple African nations. It will work closely with local governments and health leaders to design AI tools tailored to national healthcare needs, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Bill Gates said AI could be transformative for lower-income countries where hospitals and clinics struggle with limited staff and weak infrastructure. In a statement, he described artificial intelligence as a potential “gamechanger” in expanding access to essential health services.
Rwanda has already positioned itself as a regional tech hub, having established an AI-focused health center in Kigali last year. The new partnership builds on existing digital health projects supported by the Gates Foundation.
The program aims to reach 1,000 primary healthcare clinics and their surrounding communities by 2028, deploying AI systems that could assist with diagnosis, patient management, and health data analysis.
The launch comes at a time when international aid budgets are shrinking. Gates has warned that funding reductions have contributed to a rise in preventable child deaths — the first such increase this century. He noted that sub-Saharan Africa faces a shortage of roughly six million healthcare professionals, underlining the urgency for technological support.
Horizon1000 is expected to become one of the largest AI-driven health initiatives on the continent, potentially reshaping how basic medical care is delivered in resource-limited settings.