"Countries like Bangladesh, where BRAC was founded, have made enormous strides in health equity in the last three decades. Unfortunately, at least half the world's population still lacks access to essential health services," said Asif Saleh, executive director, BRAC. "Across our outreach areas in Asia and Africa, we see massive potential in using advanced data analytics and AI to bridge the gap between 'health for some' and 'health for all,' and we welcome Microsoft's commitment in making this happen."

"Unlocking and sharing data is critical to discovering new ways to treat and ultimately cure cancer," said Dr. Raphael Gottardo, scientific director, Translational Data Science Integrated Research Center, Fred Hutch. "Working in close collaboration with Microsoft, we will be able to harness new advances in AI, machine learning and cloud computing to spur innovation and open up new avenues for preventing and treating cancer and related diseases."

"Diabetes is the leading cause of adult-onset blindness in the U.S.; however, 95% of vision loss is preventable due to modern therapies such as the diabetic retinal exam (DRE)," said Dr. Sunil Gupta, founder and chief medical officer, Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems (IRIS).

"We can make a huge impact on people's lives through the early detection of sight-threatening disease, and advanced technologies can accelerate these efforts," said Steve Martin, CEO of IRIS. "Through the use of AI, we can scale our diagnostic software to reach underserved communities and help end preventable blindness."

"Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to humans, but today an estimated 2 to 3 million people are still living with the disease," said Dr. Ann Aerts, head, Novartis Foundation. "Around the world, we are working to accelerate efforts to eliminate leprosy by focusing on interventions that aim to interrupt transmission. The use of AI is transformative and a game changer in how we can accelerate progress and scale our work to reach the people in need."

"At PATH we're focused on using innovation to remove barriers so that everyone can receive the healthcare they need to thrive. Along with Microsoft, we believe there is tremendous power in using AI to help us see all communities, identify the diseases that affect them, and ultimately improve the way they deliver care. Only when every community has the opportunity to transform their health can all of humanity advance," said Jeff Bernson, MPA, MPH, chief data officer, vice president, Technology, Analytics, and Marketing Innovation, PATH.

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