Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are fundamental to universal health coverage (UHC) and ensuring all individuals can access and receive quality health services and information without discrimination or financial distress. The convergence of digital innovations and the field of SRHR presents opportunities to improve access to and quality of services. Still, it also presents its share of challenges – especially in ensuring that these innovations are safe, rights-based, equitable, and effective.

Within SRHR, as with other areas of health care, AI has emerged as a transformative force for health system efficiencies but has also introduced critical risks and rights-related considerations, including the potential impact on bodily autonomy and amplification of targeted disinformation, in a field already prone to the effects of ideologically driven narratives. 

AI has the potential to accelerate the shift towards people-centred care and strengthen the quality of care by facilitating people's agency in navigating health systems and bridging the workforce gaps. Specifically within SRHR, individuals' desires for confidentiality and privacy when seeking SRHR information and services position digital tools and AI as critical conduits for expanding access.

WHO brief

World Health Organisation (WHO) has published a technical brief that provides an overview of the landscape surrounding the use of AI in SRHR and highlights the related risks, implications, and policy considerations. Considering AI's rapidly evolving nature, this brief seeks to provide clarity in understanding how AI is being applied in SRHR and flag key issues to ensure AI is used effectively, inclusively, sustainably, and with due consideration for human rights.

According to the brief, AI models can be leveraged to develop health education interventions and promote health behaviours. AI can identify trends, patterns, and risk factors by analyzing extensive amounts of health data from sources such as electronic medical records, medical images, laboratory test results, and free-text clinical notes. This may include analyzing imaging data to support the detection of abnormalities or lesions, such as cervical pre-cancer lesions. 

The predictive capabilities of AI may also serve as an adjunct to tailor treatment regimens. For example, AI algorithms are being used to optimize antiretroviral therapy dosing options to guide clinical care and minimize side effects for people living with HIV. Machine learning approaches within AI can be used to analyze and interpret health-related data collected from individuals to support preventative care and self-monitoring.

AI can be used to analyze data on a large scale to monitor public health trends and converging issues. Its predictive modelling functions can enable the forecasting of needs and assist with targeting interventions for strategic planning and policy development. Furthermore, AI can assist researchers and clinicians in analyzing complex data sets to accelerate clinical research and drug discovery.

Risk and Implications

WHO also identifies the risks of using AI. The brief states that the responsible use of AI brings with it a set of ethical, legal, and human rights implications relating to issues of data governance, transparency and explainability, inclusiveness and equity, responsibility, and accountability, as detailed in WHO's guidance on Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health.

To mitigate the risks, they recommend revisiting data protection regulations and redress mechanisms, fighting misinformation and targeted disinformation, promoting inclusivity and data diversity and establishing collaborative oversight mechanisms. 

Full Brief- Click here.

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