In a major effort to close the global health equity gap, the Gates Foundation and OpenAI are partnering on “Horizon 1000,” a collaborative initiative designed to integrate artificial intelligence into health care systems across sub-Saharan Africa. Backed by a joint $50 million commitment in funding, technology, and technical support, the partnership aims to equip 1,000 primary health care clinics with AI tools by 2028, Bill Gates announced in a statement on his Gates Notes, where he detailed how he sees AI playing out as a “game changer” for expanding access to quality care.
The initiative will begin operations in Rwanda, working directly with African leaders to pioneer the deployment of AI in health settings. Given that a core principle of the foundation is ensuring that people in developing regions do not have to wait decades for new technologies to reach them, the goal in this partnership is to reach 1,000 primary health care clinics and their surrounding communities by 2028.
“A few years ago, I wrote that the rise of artificial intelligence would mark a technological revolution as far-reaching for humanity as microprocessors, PCs, mobile phones, and the internet,” Gates wrote. “Everything I’ve seen since then confirms my view that we are on the cusp of a breathtaking global transformation.”
