As we look back on 2025, the world experienced a year of both remarkable achievement and profound challenge in global health. Multilateralism, science and solidarity were tested as never before, underscoring a fundamental truth: International cooperation is not optional. It is essential if we are to protect and promote health for everyone, everywhere in 2026 and beyond. Perhaps the most significant milestone was the adoption by WHO Member States of the Pandemic Agreement, a landmark step towards making the world safer from future pandemics. Alongside this, amendments to the International Health Regulations came into force, including a new "pandemic emergency" alert level designed to trigger stronger global cooperation.

Healthcare technology, aka healthtech, is rapidly transforming the way healthcare services are accessed and delivered across the world, particularly to the vulnerable populations in the low and middle-income countries. Health technologies and interventions are critical elements that expand access to effective and affordable health services whilst simultaneously catalyzing efforts to achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). With the advent of electronic health records or digital records, concerns regarding the security and ownership of the sensitive health data have also arisen. For the medical data to be stored and accessed safely, healthcare providers and consumers are utilizing blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies that significantly increases transparency and security by storing and distributing data to all participants across the entire supply chain. Besides data security, the distributed ledger technology is also being used to curb the menace of drug counterfeiting.

The power of artificial intelligence to transform every field it touches is one of the unchallenged truths of our time -- but when it comes to healthcare, the technology's potential is often seen through a western lens. From hopes of faster drug discovery to systems that will help people manage chronic diseases better, the emphasis is frequently on how it can support, or otherwise make life easier, for those in the developed world. But attention is increasingly turning to how AI can address the pressing problems of poorer nations as they seek to move towards universal health coverage. In some cases, these are challenges that are distinct to the global south, but in others the problems faced in developing regions are to some extent shared by patients, physicians and payers across the globe. The Lancet's collaboration with the Financial Times on a commission on the convergence of digital health, AI and universal health coverage will concentrate on international governance and regulatory regimes.

At least half of the world's population cannot obtain essential health services. But low-cost, easy-to-use technologies powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) promise to deliver quality and affordable health care to the people who need it most, no matter how hard to reach. At the AI for Good Global Summit last week, entrepreneurs, AI experts, academics and UN representatives described many AI technologies for health, allowing for the early detection of various pathologies such as osteoarthritis, diabetic retinopathy, child malnutrition, snakebites and others. These technologies don't place a heavy burden on doctors, and can lead to prompt diagnosis and effective treatment. They agreed that AI can add tremendous value in developing countries where there is a low density of physicians.