Revolution or Risk? Debating AI’s Role in Global Health and Launching the Journal That Will Shape It

Name: Revolution or Risk? Debating AI’s Role in Global Health and Launching the Journal That Will Shape It
Start: 2026-05-28
End: 2026-05-28

28 May 2026

We are delighted to invite you to an online event to mark the launch of RSTMH’s new journal, Artificial Intelligence in Global Health.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the digital landscape and reshaping how healthcare is delivered worldwide. There is growing interest in harnessing AI to address complex healthcare challenges, particularly those faced by lower‑ and middle‑income countries (LMICs). However, alongside its potential, AI raises critical ethical, practical, and equity‑related questions. These considerations are especially pressing in global health, where longstanding inequalities in funding, access, implementation, and capacity persist.

Co‑Editors‑in‑Chief Dr Peiling Yap and Rohit Malpani, will be leading a thought‑provoking discussion on AI’s opportunities and risks in global health. Speakers will share real‑world use cases, explore key ethical debates, and introduce the Aims and Scope of the new journal.

Agenda

Opening remarks: Professor Margaret Gyapong
Introduction: Dr Peiling Yap and Rohit Malpani
Debate and discussion: Professor Sanjay Kinra, Innocent Chiboma, Dr Mona Duggal
Journal overview:Tom Pinfield
Use case presentation: Dr Charles Cleland , Dr Saumya Kareem Reni
Q&A
Closing remarks: Tamar Ghosh

Read more about the launch of RSTMH’s new journal, Artificial Intelligence in Global Health here and for any queries, please email us.

Speakers

Dr Charles Cleland

Charles is an ophthalmologist and clinical research fellow working at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Dr Mona Duggal

Dr Mona Duggal is a distinguished public health researcher and the current Director & Scientist - G of the ICMR- National Institute for Research in Digital Health (NIRDH), New Delhi.

Tamar Ghosh

Tamar joined as Chief Executive of RSTMH in November of 2016.

Professor Margaret Gyapong

A medical anthropologist by training, Professor Gyapong is currently Director of the Institute of Health Research and Coordinator of the Centre for Health Policy and Implementation Research at the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana.

Professor Sanjay Kinra

Professor Sanjay Kinra is Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where they co-lead the AI in Global Health and Healthcare (GH2.ai) Research Group.

Rohit Malpani

Rohit Malpani is an independent consultant, working on the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence in health, antimicrobial resistance, and access to medicines. He is Co-Editor in Chief of Artificial Intelligence in Global Health.

Tom Pinfield

Tom Pinfield joined the RSTMH as Managing Editor in November 2022. He is responsible for the overall management and strategic development of the Society’s journals, Artificial Intelligence in Global Health, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene and International Health.

Dr Saumya Kareem Reni

Dr. Saumya Kareem Reni is the Director of the Applied DSP and VLSI Research Group and a Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Westminster, London.

Dr Peiling Yap

Dr Peiling Yap is a pharmacist and infectious-diseases epidemiologist by training, with 15 years of experience in the global and public health sectors. She is Co-Editor in Chief of Artificial Intelligence in Global Health.