Washington, D.C., 18 November 2025 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) held the webinar “The Health Workforce and Artificial Intelligence: Strategic Vision for the Region” to promote a high-level discussion on how to ethically, equitably, and sustainably integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the planning, development, and strengthening of the health workforce in the Americas.
Mary Lou Valdez, PAHO Deputy Director, delivered the opening remarks and emphasized that AI is no longer a topic of the future but a reality already shaping the daily work of health personnel in the Region. “The decisions we make today will determine whether artificial intelligence becomes a tool for equity or a factor of exclusion,” she stated, stressing that AI must serve the “most valuable asset of health systems: health personnel.”
Valdez linked the discussion to the Human Resources for Health Policy 2030, adopted by Member States in 2023, which calls for sufficient, well-trained, and equitably distributed health personnel. AI, she noted, can be a catalyst for advancing this vision, provided it is accompanied by robust ethical frameworks, appropriate regulation, and the development of digital competencies.
During the webinar, Benjamín Puertas, unit chief of Human Resources for Health at PAHO, presented the main findings of a regional study on the impact of AI on the development and strengthening of health personnel in Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared together with Natalia Rodríguez, lead researcher and international consultant for PAHO.
“We wanted to understand specifically how AI is impacting health personnel in our Region and what capacities and tools countries need to leverage it responsibly,” Puertas explained during the presentation.
The study revealed key trends regarding exposure, use, perceptions, and barriers to AI adoption in the health sector. Among the most notable findings: the vast majority of health professionals and students have already used some AI tool, although only a minority have received formal training—highlighting a critical digital preparedness gap. Generative AI emerged as the most recognized and widely used technology, driven by its availability and rapid expansion.
The research identified insufficient budget allocation, low digital competencies, and the lack of regulatory frameworks and interoperability as the main obstacles to AI adoption in health systems. At the same time, most respondents perceive AI as having the potential to improve efficiency, reduce costs, enhance quality of care, and expand access, and they express a strong willingness to use these tools in the future. However, concerns persist regarding governance, ethics, and data protection, as well as the risk of new inequalities in access to training and opportunities—underscoring the need for strong ethical and regulatory frameworks to guide safe, inclusive, and sustainable implementation.
High-Level Panel: Regional experiences and perspectives
As part of the event, a high-level panel moderated by Marcelo D’Agostino, unit chief of Information Systems and Digital Health at PAHO, featured regional experts sharing experiences and perspectives on AI use in health workforce training and practice.
William Hoyos, director of Strategic Health Monitoring and Evaluation at El Salvador’s Ministry of Health, addressed governance, regulation, and ethical challenges in AI use. Deborah Cohen, chief Operating Officer at Health Workforce Canada, presented innovations in health workforce planning through AI applications and modeling to tackle challenges such as vacancies, workload, and workforce distribution in a large and diverse country. Zulma Cucunubá, director of the Institute of Public Health at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia, using a case study, discussed digital skills and competencies for health personnel in the AI era. Daniel Luna, chief of Health Informatics at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Argentina, shared institutional experience in innovation and digital transformation, describing different stages of AI adoption and emphasizing the role of innovation, equity, and international cooperation in driving a people-centered approach.
At the close of the event, Puertas reaffirmed PAHO’s commitment to continue working with countries, academic institutions, and strategic partners to ensure that artificial intelligence becomes a tool that strengthens—rather than weakens—the health workforce, contributing to progress toward universal health in the Americas.
The webinar brought together more than 590 participants from 56 countries, with broad representation from across the Region of the Americas and additional participation from Europe and Africa, reflecting the growing global interest in the impact of artificial intelligence on the health workforce. As part of next steps, PAHO is developing an AI-based predictive model for health workforce supply and demand, which will serve as a strategic planning tool for countries.
Recording available here
