AI for Healthy Cities: Health Equity Through Precision Population Health

Foreign Policy and the Novartis Foundation will host an event on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) to explore how technology, data, and artificial intelligence can be harnessed to address cardiovascular population health in urban environments around the world. 

This event will debut insights from the Novartis Foundation’s AI4HealthyCities initiatives and outline how health authorities and providers, as well as innovators, researchers, and urban planners can leverage these insights to create local precision population health roadmaps which effectively reduce cardiovascular health inequities in their communities.  

By 2050, urban areas are expected to house 70% of the global population, a demographic shift that brings both challenges and opportunities. Increased pollution, stress, limited access to quality food and physical activity, and rising health inequities threaten population health outcomes. However, cities also generate vast amounts of data that, if properly harnessed, can provide critical insights for urban and health planning. Policymakers and public health officials can use AI and data to identify correlations between various factors, such as social determinants and health outcomes, thus informing policies that enhance city resilience and sustainability.