Act Now, Build Forward: AI for Public Service Delivery in Africa
IDinsight and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office are co-hosting a closed dialogue on the sidelines of UNGA81.
The policy conversation around AI has rightly focused on data sovereignty, algorithmic bias, and questions of power and accountability in AI partnerships. Those questions matter. But there is a parallel question that gets less airtime — what governments can do with AI now, using the data they already hold, to deliver better services to citizens who need them.
This session brings together senior officials, funders, and practitioners to work through that question honestly. Where are practical, low-risk deployments already working? What data governance foundations should be non-negotiable before scaling? What should governments demand of AI providers to protect citizens and build domestic capacity?
For any questions or concerns, please reach out to Kassandra Barnes at kassandra.barnes@idinsight.org.
Doors open at 2:00 PM
Program: 2:30–4:00 PM
Networking: 4:00–4:30 PM
About the Speakers
H.E. Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, Chief Minister and Chief Innovation Officer, Government of Sierra Leone
David has served as Sierra Leone's Chief Minister since July 2023, advising the President and Vice President and working across ministries, departments, and agencies to deliver the government's agenda. He was the first person to hold the role of Chief Innovation Officer and served as Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education from 2019 to 2023. Internationally, he chairs the Advisory Board of UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report, sits on the executive committee of the Global Partnership for Education Board, and co-chairs the technical committee of UNESCO's High-Level Steering Committee for SDG 4. He chaired the advisory board for the 2022 Transforming Education Summit. Before joining the government in 2018, he was a Research Manager at IBM Research Africa, leading a healthcare team designing AI-enabled systems for disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management. He holds a PhD in biomechatronics from MIT and a bachelor's in Engineering Sciences from Harvard, and has been named a TED Senior Fellow, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, an Obama Foundation Africa Leader, a National Geographic Explorer, and to Forbes 30 Under 30.
Rebecca Gong-Sharp, CEO, IDinsight
Becca Gong-Sharp is CEO of IDinsight, a data, evidence, and AI-for-good advisory nonprofit that helps governments, NGOs, and funders deliver impact at scale. IDinsight evaluates what works, builds and deploys AI-for-good tools, and improves the cost-effectiveness of interventions so resources can do the most good. IDinsight both builds AI products in-house and rigorously evaluates them end-to-end, from model reliability testing through to population-scale impact measurement. Becca has led IDinsight across two tenures spanning nearly a decade, first as COO and Partner during a period of growth from 50 to over 200 staff, and now as CEO. Between stints, she served as a presidential appointee in the Biden administration, leading the Peace Corps' Eurasia region across 19 country posts. She holds a BA from Harvard College, MBA from Yale School of Management, and MPA from Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs.
Charlotte Pierre, Director for Africa at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), UK
Charlotte Pierre is Director for Africa at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Charlotte was British High Commissioner to Mauritius from 2021 to 2025. Charlotte was previously Deputy Director for West Africa and Africa-wide security policy at the FCDO. She has served overseas in Africa and the Middle East.
Panelists
Seyni Ndiaye Fall, Director of ICT Promotion and Coordinator of the Integrated National Education Management System, Senegal Ministry of National Education
Seyni Ndiaye Fall coordinates SIMEN, the Senegalese Ministry of National Education's information and management system, which leads the ministry's digital transformation of teaching and learning through classroom platforms and applications for students and teachers. During the COVID-19 school closures, Seyni Ndiaye Fall oversaw the ministry's distance-learning response, and is a frequent public voice on ICT and STEM in Senegalese education.
Clio Dintilhac, Senior Program Officer, Gates Foundation
Clio leads a Global Education portfolio at the Gates Foundation focused on improving the quality and availability of learning data, expanding the evidence base around at-scale interventions, and supporting implementation of evidence-based solutions in sub-Saharan Africa. Before joining the foundation in 2016, she worked at the Boston Consulting Group in France and Indonesia and served as a government adviser with the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative in Ethiopia. She holds a degree from HEC Paris and an MPA/ID from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Dr. Divya Nair, Chief Technical Officer, Last Mile Health
Divya leads Last Mile Health's Health Systems Strengthening and Global Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning teams, overseeing technical work across Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Africa Frontline First. Her teams' portfolio spans health financing, digital health, clinical systems, and community health worker education. She brings 20 years of experience with governments, multilaterals, donors, and NGOs across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, including six years as a Director at IDinsight leading engagements with national and state governments in India. Earlier roles include the World Bank, IFAD, and the Institute for Health Policy in Colombo. She holds a PhD in public health and economics from Johns Hopkins, an MPA from Princeton, and a BA from Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi.
Charlene Migwe, Deputy Regional Director, East and Southern Africa, IDinsight
Charlene leads IDinsight’s growth in AI-for-good, digital public infrastructure, and digital transformation across East and Southern Africa. She brings over 15 years of experience driving adoption of digitally enabled solutions across the continent, most recently as Director of the Mastercard Foundation Partnership at Caribou Digital and previously overseeing East and Southern Africa at Development Gateway. Her prior work spans partnerships with the Gates Foundation, FCDO, Hewlett Foundation, and Mastercard Foundation, and she has led open contracting and fertilizer data programs in Kenya. She studied Business and Information Technology at Strathmore University and is completing an MPhil in Inclusive Innovation at the University of Cape Town. She is a Mandela Washington Fellow and former YALI East Africa Regional Advisory Board Chair.
Meg Battle, Senior Director, Global Strategic Partnerships and External Affairs, IDinsight (Moderator)
Meg leads the development and execution of large-scale engagements spanning IDinsight's geographies, services, and sectors, including projects evaluating AI solutions with Google.org, a multi-year learning partnership with CARE International's Impact at Scale team, and leadership of the Digital Economies Research Impact Initiative with the Gates Foundation. She previously served as IDinsight's Southeast Asia Regional Director. Before IDinsight, Meg spent six years leading and advising child protection and women's health organizations in Battambang, Cambodia, and worked as a strategy consultant to public health nonprofits in the US. She holds a BA from Boston College and an MPH from Johns Hopkins, where she was a Sommer Scholar.