But access remains uneven. Okayasu said AI adoption in healthcare is currently concentrated in higher-income countries, potentially widening existing disparities if poorer countries are left behind.
“If we don’t do anything, then this will further expand the gap,” he said. “Also, AI is as good as the data it trains from. Therefore, when one country adapts the model from other countries, local validation is important.”
The policy challenge, he added, is finding a balance. Excessive regulation could hinder adoption in places that could benefit from the technology, while inadequate oversight raises risks of bias and misuse.
Countries also have vastly different levels of infrastructure, resources and regulatory capacity.
Rather than waiting until all the necessary systems are in place, Okayasu said lower-resource countries could start with lower-risk, high-impact applications while building the necessary governance.
He emphasised that when AI is used to assist with diagnosis or treatment decisions, however, responsibility must ultimately remain with healthcare professionals.
“These AI systems … are to support the human healthcare workers,” he said. “It is very important to make sure that the human has a final decision.”
REGIONAL COOPERATION
For host country Cambodia, the discussions come as it pursues its own healthcare reforms.
The government has set out a roadmap towards universal health coverage by 2035, including targets to achieve 80 per cent population coverage of essential health services and reduce out-of-pocket medical spending to 35 per cent.
Health Minister Chheang Ra said primary healthcare is at the centre of the country’s reforms. He added that many of Cambodia’s challenges are also shared by countries across the region.
“We face many common challenges: infectious diseases, climate change, health workforce shortage, health financing, population aging, non-communicable diseases and the rapid development of AI and digital health,” he told CNA.
“No country can protect its population by acting alone. (Health) challenges cross borders, so our response must also therefore cross borders.”
He said nations need to cooperate and share information to improve outbreak detection and response, while also exchanging experience in areas such as healthcare workforce training and planning.
“Every country must have a choice and a voice,” he said. “Global health must be built together.”
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