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Reflections from the Prince Mahidol Award Conference 2025

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Bridging or widening the gap? The double-edged sword of technology



The Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) is one of the most anticipated events in global health, offering a unique platform for thought leaders, policymakers, and practitioners to navigate the most pressing challenges of our time. In fact, it is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Global Health as past laureates include Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sir Michael Marmot, and former WHO director-general Dr. Margaret Chan.



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Opening address by Thailand‘s Minister of Public Health Somsak Thepsuthin

Members of the SDGHI team were fortunate to attend PMAC 2025, among over 900 participants who joined the 19th annual conference. It was both an honour and an opportunity to engage with cutting-edge discussions on the future of healthcare.

Beyond attending, our team played an active role in the program—Renzo Guinto moderated a panel on Harnessing AI and Digital Technologies to Bridge Climate Action and Health Equity, while Jonas Karlstrom contributed to From Detection to Action: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Strengthening Primary Health Care, a session hosted by the Gates Foundation and PATH.

For those who couldn’t attend the conference, here are key takeaways—because these discussions matter to us all in the global health community, and beyond.

Innovation vs. inequality: The balancing act

This year’s theme, “Harnessing Technologies in an Age of AI to Build a Healthier World,” underscored the need to leverage innovation for equitable, affordable, and comprehensive healthcare, particularly in low- and middle-income countries and underserved communities in high-income nations.

AI and other emerging technologies are powerful tools for strengthening health systems, advancing the SDGs, and promoting global health equity. However, they also pose risks—security threats, misinformation, inequitable access, and privacy concerns. This PMAC edition also tackled pressing issues such as climate change, conflict, and emerging diseases, reinforcing the urgency of ethical and inclusive technological progress.

The discussions were intellectually stimulating and, at times, provocative.

David Hipgrave, Lead (Research), SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute noted, “Dr Rubin Pillay’s keynote was riveting. I was especially struck by his repeated reference to George Bernard Shaw’s quote on the power of the ‘unreasonable man’ to shape the world. His vision of AI-driven knowledge and healthcare democratisation offers hope for bridging long-standing inequalities in health literacy and access”.

The key takeaways from the conference can be distilled into three main categories: the promise, the challenges and the way forward.


The promise of technology and AI

Technology’s potential in healthcare is undeniable, with advancements offering:

  • Analytics and early warning systems to predict disease outbreaks using vast amounts of data.
  • Improved health service delivery, enhancing availability and accessibility, and introducing an era of precision medicine that can tailor healthcare to individual needs.
  • Stronger health financing, leveraging digital solutions to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse while improving financial protection and the quality of public financial management.
  • Support for the health workforce, particularly in allocation, education and training.

The challenges

Despite its promise, technology also risks deepening existing inequalities:

  • The digital divide persists—not only between countries but also across socioeconomic groups, genders, and varying levels of digital literacy. Issues like data colonialism (i.e. the extraction and control of data from low- and middle-income countries by wealthier nations or corporations), bias, and AI’s potential environmental impact further complicate the landscape.
  • When data is unrepresentative, it becomes unreliable—a critical flaw in AI-driven decision-making.


“Access to technology presents similar challenges across underserved communities and elderly populations, even in developed societies. A key issue is how technology is often designed without meaningful consultation with the end users it aims to serve,” noted Chong Teck Kwa, lead, Regional Collaborating Centres, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute.

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Dr Rubin Pillay’s keynote set the tone for intellectually stimulating discussions


The way forward

The consensus? Technology must be handled with care.

Calls to action emphasised collaboration, communication, and collective action to ensure that AI and digital solutions serve everyone—not just the privileged few.

 “AI is already transforming healthcare in lower-income settings, not just in high-income countries. AI-powered mobile diagnostics are helping community health workers in remote areas, machine learning is predicting disease outbreaks, and AI chatbots are providing mental health support in regions where trained therapists are scarce” remarked Kaung Suu Lwin, Research Fellow, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute.

As the conference emphasised, steering technology in the right direction demands a deliberate, inclusive approach—one that puts equity, ethics, and sustainability at the forefront. This message was powerfully captured in a short story video produced exclusively for PMAC 2025, which clearly resonated with the audience—judging by the gasps, applause, and murmurs of agreement.

If you have ten minutes to spare, it’s well worth a watch:

Key takeaways and next steps

At its heart, PMAC is about shaping a world that is healthier, more equitable, and just. This year’s theme, “Harnessing Technologies in an Age of AI to Build a Healthier World,” ignited discussions on AI’s transformative potential in healthcare—alongside the ethical challenges it brings, from security threats and misinformation to inequitable access and privacy concerns.

But progress won’t happen in isolation. As Emma Rawson-Te Patu, President of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, reminded us in the event’s concluding remarks, each of us holds power to drive change—it all comes down to how we use it and who we include in the conversation.

Looking ahead, PMAC 2026 will focus on navigating global demographic shifts—from urbanisation to ageing—through innovative, equity-driven policies. Another critical conversation we can’t afford to miss.



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