Autonomous mobile clinics with 'AI doctor' functions may be key to reaching universal health coverage.        Image: Unsplash/National Cancer Institute
World Economic Forum - 
  • At least half the world's population lacks access to essential health services and up to a third will remain underserved by 2030.
  • Autonomous mobile clinics with 'AI doctor' functions may be key to reaching universal health coverage, as outlined in UN Sustainable Development Goal 3.
  • Piloting such clinics in least developed countries through a demand-driven approach and multistakeholder partnerships will help set industry standards and scale-up the benefits.

The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 3, or SDG 3, declared a universal health goal to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” by 2030. The way to its realization is through “universal health coverage (UHC) and access to quality health care, (and ensure) no one must be left behind”.

However, to date, at least half of the world’s population lacks access to essential health services, and at the current pace, up to one third of the world’s population will remain underserved by 2030.

As identified by the UN General Assembly under the theme 'Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World', “many health systems are not sufficiently prepared to respond to the needs of the rapidly ageing population… as well as financial hardships associated with high prices of health products, continue to impede progress towards achieving universal health coverage”.

Thus, acceleration of affordable and location non-restricted healthcare has become an urgent ask to upgrade public health systems and achieve the aims of SDG3.

Autonomous mobile clinics and 'AI doctors' could enable universal health coverage

Among the possible methods, autonomous mobile clinics (AMCs) and their potential to provide affordable universal health coverage have caught our attention at the UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries (UN Technology Bank), a UN entity mandated by the General Assembly to enhance science, technology and innovation for sustainable development in the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs), that are facing severe structural impediments to growth and account for less than 2% of world GDP.

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