GLIDE, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and the Government of Nigeria convened ministers, funders, industry and advocates at a joint event where GLIDE announced its new AI training platform for national program managers and public health leaders, and GLIDE and RBM formalized their partnership
New York, 23 September 2026: Health ministers, funders, diagnostics leaders and advocates met on the margins of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) to explore how to deliver more impact in an economically efficient manner, and what role artificial intelligence (AI) should play in getting there. “Smarter Investment, Greater Impact: Harnessing AI to Accelerate Disease Elimination” was co-hosted by GLIDE, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and the Government of Nigeria, bringing together leaders to explore these questions.
With donor budgets shrinking and humanitarian and development financing under sustained pressure, and the burden of preventable infectious diseases — malaria, polio and neglected tropical diseases chief among them — concentrated in countries already facing significant fiscal constraints, speakers highlighted the need for approaches that enable countries to make the most effective use of available resources. The discussion considered how AI can support stronger decision-making, including through improved disease surveillance and more targeted deployment of interventions, while remaining aligned with national priorities and health system realities.
Commenting on the event, H.E. Dr. Farida Al Hosani, Chief Executive Officer of GLIDE, said, “Progress towards malaria elimination depends on ensuring that global knowledge and innovation translate into practical capabilities at the country level. Through our partnership with the RBM Partnership to End Malaria and by hosting high level convenings such as this one, we are connecting GLIDE’s commitment to technical capacity building with a global network that brings together the partners needed to support country-led action. Together, we aim to help equip national programs and public health leaders with the tools, knowledge, and collaboration required to advance disease elimination in ways that respond to their own priorities and realities.”
Keynote remarks from H.E. Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, were delivered on his behalf by Dr. Michael Adekunle Charles, CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria. The remarks set out the political case for countries to determine how new technologies are adopted within their own health systems. Nigeria accounts for the largest share of the global malaria burden and is pursuing its Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative to strengthen primary health care and domestic financing.
A moderated panel followed, chaired by Sam Macintosh, Co-Founder of Metli, and bringing together Priya Basu, Executive Head of the Pandemic Fund; Joanna Sickler, Vice President for Health Policy and External Affairs at Roche Diagnostics; and Spencer Knoll, Director of U.S. Policy and Advocacy at Malaria No More US. The discussion focused on the investment and implementation conditions needed to scale AI-enabled programs. This included connecting capital with viable opportunities, while ensuring that data infrastructure, workforce capacity, and integration are in place to support sustained progress.
GLIDE then announced its AI training programs for national program managers and public health leaders,, designed to build the practical skills needed to apply these tools in disease elimination settings. The initiative features two tailored pathways: GLIDE Leadership Excellence in AI for Health (GLIDE_LEAH), for senior decision makers and AI for All, developed by the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and tailored in collaboration with GLIDE, for public health professionals worldwide.
Together, these programs equip health leaders at every level with the knowledge, confidence, and safeguards needed to harness AI for stronger health systems and accelerated disease elimination.
Closing the session, Dr. Michael Adekunle Charles, Chief Executive Officer of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, said, “Malaria-endemic countries must be in the driving seat, whether determining how artificial intelligence and new technologies are applied or strengthening manufacturing and resilient supply chains. Countries understand the context and lived realities of the communities most affected by malaria. Through the Big Push against Malaria, RBM brings the Partnership together around country priorities and helps connect countries with the expertise, partners, data and resources needed to act. Our collaboration with GLIDE will further translate shared knowledge and innovation into practical, country-led action.”
The session concluded with the signing of a letter of mutual understanding between GLIDE and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, formalizing their commitment to placing the countries hardest hit by malaria at the centre of malaria interventions. The partnership establishes a framework for collaboration between the two organizations in support of country-led malaria control and elimination efforts, connecting global expertise, AI & technical innovation, and capacity building with the needs and priorities of national malaria control programs and the communities they serve. It aligns with the World Health Organization’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria and supports the shared goal of ensuring countries have access to high-quality learning, expertise and practical resources as they work to control and eliminate malaria.
About the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE)
Formally launched in 2019, GLIDE operates as a think-and-do tank dedicated to advancing global thinking and accelerating progress towards the elimination of preventable infectious diseases, with a particular focus on malaria, polio, lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis.
Working across advocacy, capacity strengthening and operational research, GLIDE supports country ownership and locally led solutions, builds partnerships with key stakeholders, and facilitates cross-disease, cross-border and cross-sector collaboration. Through this approach, the institute seeks to translate knowledge and innovation into sustainable action that advances disease elimination and contributes to achieving health for all.
About the RBM Partnership to End Malaria
The RBM Partnership to End Malaria is the world’s largest platform dedicated to eliminating malaria. Since 1998, it has brought together more than 500 partners, including malaria-endemic countries, development agencies, private-sector organizations, and community-based groups, to advance coordinated action against the disease. Under the Big Push against Malaria, RBM aligns partners around six strategic pillars: coordination, national leadership, data systems, equitable access, new tools, and sustainable financing — all built on the principle that endemic countries should lead, with global and regional partners aligning behind country-defined priorities.
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