Experts spotlight opportunities and risks of AI in South Africa’s health system

27 Mar 2026
Experts spotlight opportunities and risks of AI in South Africa’s health system
27 Mar 2026

Senior officials, researchers, and implementing partners gathered in Sandton on 10 March 2026 for a national AI Research & Learning Session exploring how artificial intelligence can strengthen HIV prevention and primary healthcare in South Africa. The event was hosted by the National Department of Health in partnership with Shout-it-Now and Audere Africa, and brought together representatives from the Departments of Health, Basic Education, and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, alongside the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), UN agencies, funders and civil-society organisations.

The session focused on early lessons from the deployment of AI-enabled health tools in Southern Africa, including conversational platforms designed to provide confidential, accessible health information and support. Initiatives such as Audere’s AI-powered self-care companion, developed with government and community partners, are already being used to expand access to HIV and sexual and reproductive health services via mobile platforms.

Chelsea C
Chelsea Coakley, Bloom & Thrive co-PI

Chelsea Coakley, Research Officer in the Adolescent Accelerators Research Hub shared findings from the Bloom & Thrive mixed-methods study, which examines adolescent girls’ and young women’s experiences with AI-enabled health platforms, focusing on acceptability, safety, and pathways from research to real-world scale.

The study forms part of the Adolescent Accelerators Research Hub’s broader work to identify evidence-based interventions that can improve outcomes across multiple domains of adolescent wellbeing in resource-constrained settings.

Coakley’s presentation highlighted how young users navigate digital health tools, the importance of trust and privacy in AI interactions, and the need for youth-centred design to ensure these technologies are both safe and effective.

Ntombifikile
Dr Ntombifikile Mtshali, Bloom & Thrive co-PI & Shout it Now CEO

Across panel discussions and research presentations, participants emphasised that AI in health must be grounded in local realities and implemented with strong ethical and governance frameworks. Several cross-cutting themes emerged:

  • Context matters: AI tools must be informed by local evidence, language and health-system realities.
  • Human-centred design is essential: Successful platforms are co-designed with communities, healthcare workers and young people.
  • Human oversight remains critical: AI should support, not replace, healthcare professionals.
  • Ethics and data integrity are non-negotiable: Responsible data governance and clear accountability mechanisms are required.
  • Collaboration is key: Multi-sector partnerships between government, researchers, NGOs and funders are necessary to translate innovation into public-health impact.

The learning session forms part of a growing national and regional effort to generate evidence on how AI can be deployed safely and effectively within overstretched health systems. By bringing together policymakers and researchers, the event created a space to share early findings, identify risks, and align on priorities for future implementation.

For CSSR, participation in the session reflects its ongoing commitment to ensuring that adolescent voices and rigorous social-science evidence shape the development of emerging health technologies.