Geneva – The digital Centre of ethics at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has been granted a status of WHO Collaborating Centre on AI for health governance by the World Health Organization (WHO). The designated event marks a step closer to ensuring the ethical deployment of AI in healthcare and strengthening WHO’s mission to responsible governance and policy-making for universal equitable digital health solutions.
According to WHO, artificial intelligence can be life-saving, improve diagnosing, or enhance the care patients receive. However, WHO also adds that just like everything else, even drawing benefits from AI requires good governance, ethics, and collaboration between academia and policy-driven institutions.
“WHO is committed to helping Member States plan, govern, and adopt responsible AI technologies,” said Dr Alain Labrique, Director of Digital Health and Innovation at WHO. “We are witnessing remarkable progress, with AI poised to transform health systems and support individuals on their health journeys. To ensure these benefits reach everyone ethically, safely, and equitably, we rely on strong technical and academic partnerships that guide us in this rapidly evolving field.”
The Collaborating Center designation from WHO thus emphasizes the evidence of Delft’s leadership in digital ethics and integrates ethical values into AI development. The Digital Ethics Centre has participated in international consultations, workshops, and guidance development on health technologies driven by AI.
“The fruit of two decades of research in digital ethics and responsible innovation, the Delft Digital Ethics Centre is one of the frontrunners in operationalizing ethical values into design requirements for digital technologies such as artificial intelligence,” Professor Jeroen van den Hoven, Scientific Director at Delft Digital Ethics Centre noted. “We look forward to contributing to the global health community and advancing the responsible use of AI in health.”
A core initiative under this partnership is the Responsible and Ethical AI for Healthcare Lab, co-created by Delft University and its partners. It will thus provide key insights into the implementation of WHO guidelines in real-world clinical settings.
“The designation of the Digital Ethics Centre at Delft University of Technology as a WHO Collaborating Centre strengthens our collective ability to ensure AI serves public health equitably and responsibly. This collaboration will play a critical role in supporting Member States to navigate the opportunities and challenges of AI, fostering trust, transparency, and innovation in digital health,” said Dr David Novillo-Ortiz, Regional Adviser and Unit Head for Data, Evidence and Digital Health at WHO’s Regional Office for Europe.
It is thus an indication of WHO’s evidence-to-AI governance that applications involving AI in health are ethically sound, transparent, and above all, trusted by the public. It will also help by enabling knowledge sharing and policy formulation with evidence to address AI’s opportunities and challenges that all member states may face while ensuring digital health turns out to be fair, inclusive, and innovative.
Source: https://www.who.int/news/item/06-03-2025-who-announces-new-collaborating-centre-on-ai-for-health-governance
Latest Stories:
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Clarifies Phased Rollout of GPT-4.5
McDonald’s to Use AI to Enhance Fast Food Services Globally
Alibaba Unveils QwQ-32B to Fight Back With DeepSeek & OpenAI
