Community Jameel congratulates J-PAL and partners on the launch of a USD 60M initiative to evaluate AI in health
NEW DELHI, INDIA – 20 FEBRUARY 2026
Community Jameel congratulates the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and partners on the launch of Evidence for AI in Health (EVAH), a new USD 60 million initiative aimed at generating robust evidence for artificial intelligence (AI) tools in healthcare.
Supported by the Gates Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, EVAH will support locally-led evaluations of AI technologies in low- and middle-income countries over the next three years.
The initiative seeks to ensure that AI tools – ranging from disease prediction models and computer vision to large language models and multimodal AI – are safe, effective and equitable within the clinical settings where they are most needed.
EVAH will work with country partners to select tools for evaluation that align with local health priorities and can be integrated into primary and community healthcare settings.
Ensuring health policy is guided by evidence
EVAH will be delivered in partnership with J-PAL and the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC).
Together, they will scope AI tools, develop rigorous evaluation frameworks, work closely with local research teams and synthesise and disseminate findings to inform policy.
The first requests for proposals will focus on AI-enabled decision support tools designed to assist frontline workers with clinical tasks – such as triage, diagnosis and referral – in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia.
By leveraging J-PAL and APHRC's expertise in implementation research and randomised controlled trials, the initiative aims to bridge the gap between technological innovation and real-world health impact, ensuring that AI-driven solutions are grounded in evidence and community trust.
Discover more
- Request for proposals (closing 1 April 2026)
- Gates Foundation
- Wellcome Trust
