Healo in Malaysia 2026: Srishti Srivastava Speaks at the National Cancer Congress Malaysia
Infiheal's Founder and CEO, Srishti Srivastava, was invited to speak at the National Cancer Congress Malaysia (NCCM) 2026, held from 4 to 6 September at Sunway University, Kuala Lumpur. She spoke as part of the session titled "When Innovation Meets Empathy," bringing Infiheal's perspective on responsible AI in mental healthcare to one of Southeast Asia's most significant gatherings of healthcare professionals and innovators.
About the Congress
The National Cancer Congress Malaysia is a collaborative initiative between the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM), established in 1966 as the country's first non-profit cancer organisation, and Sunway University, ranked within the top 2 percent of universities in the world. The 2026 edition was themed "Bridging Gaps, Building Hope, Empowering Lives" and brought together a wide spectrum of cancer care professionals, including physicians, family medicine practitioners, psychologists, pain specialists, dietitians, allied health workers, researchers, and policymakers, all working across different parts of the patient journey.
The Congress was inaugurated in the presence of His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, Sultan of Perak, who serves as Royal Patron of the NCSM. Sultan Nazrin outlined three priorities for all stakeholders in Malaysia's cancer ecosystem: that research must be scientifically rigorous and reach patients across the country rather than remain concentrated in urban centres; that policymakers must incorporate evidence and patients' lived experiences into national cancer strategy; and that Malaysians must take greater responsibility for prevention. His address set a tone of cross-sector collaboration that carried through the entire congress.
When Innovation Meets Empathy
As technology moves deeper into healthcare, the difficult questions are no longer only about what AI can do. They are about where it should be used, where clinical judgment must remain central, and how to build systems that genuinely understand the consequences of getting that balance wrong.
This is particularly important in mental health, where a conversation can move from everyday stress or emotional overwhelm to a situation requiring clinical or crisis intervention. Support has to be proportionate to risk. AI may have a meaningful role in lower-risk situations. Clinical expertise needs to become more central as complexity increases. And in high-risk situations, the right response is timely human intervention, not a chatbot.
One of the clearest things building Healo has taught the Infiheal team is that responsible AI is as much about restraint and escalation as it is about capability. The intelligence is not only in knowing how to respond. It is in knowing when a different kind of response is needed altogether.
Why This Room Mattered
The NCCM brought together people from disciplines that rarely share the same stage: oncologists alongside psychologists, dietitians alongside pain specialists, policymakers alongside patient advocates. Each sees a different part of the patient journey, and collectively they make one thing clear: technology cannot be developed in isolation from the people who practise and deliver care. Building AI for healthcare requires continuous, genuine dialogue with clinicians, not just validation exercises after the fact.
Srishti also had the opportunity to meet Dato Sivakumar Krishnan, Infiheal's collaborator in Malaysia, and to exchange perspectives on the thoughtful role technology can play in the future of healthcare delivery across the region.
Gratitude and Looking Ahead
Infiheal is grateful to Kol. Bersekutu (PA) Prof. Dr Murallitharan Munisamy and the entire NCSM team for bringing together such a thoughtful group of healthcare professionals and innovators. The conversations and perspectives from Malaysia will continue to inform how Infiheal builds, and the team looks forward to staying in touch and continuing these important conversations.
