ADVERTISEMENT
Africanian
  • News
  • News 24/7
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Travel
  • World
    • US
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • America
  • Events
No Result
View All Result
Africanian
No Result
View All Result
Home News

South Africa: Investment in data, AI key to improving Africa’s health system

Investment in data and artificial intelligence or AI will be a key tool driving health system improvements during and after the coronavirus pandemic in Africa, according to a new report by Novartis Foundation and Microsoft.

in News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
1 0
0
South Africa: Investment in data, AI key to improving Africa's health system
1
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Whatsapp

Released on Wednesday, the report said African countries could be the fastest adopters of AI-enabled technologies in health due to lack of legacy systems. It also warned, however, that countries have the most to lose if governments fail to invest now.

Technologies such as mobile phone trading platforms, e-banking, e-commerce, and even blockchain applications have often been adopted faster and more comprehensively in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries, and health technologies are likely to follow the same trend, the report stated.

Rwanda is already arguably the most digitally connected health system in Africa, with its virtual consulting service surging past two million users, or one-third of the adult population.

The government of Rwanda and Babylon Health, operating in the east African country as Babyl, entered a 10-year partnership in March to enable Rwandans over the age of 12 to access health consultations via their mobile phones.

Appointments are paid through Mutuelle de Santé, the government’s community-based health insurance scheme.

More

Somalia: the female revolution building cities

New AfDB index reveals reform potential in the delivery of basic services in Africa

Kenya modernizes its power grid to integrate renewable energy and improve quality of life

The contract also introduced the company’s advanced AI technologies to the country, an initiative that saw medical staff aided by Babylon’s Artificial Intelligence-powered triage and symptom checker platform.

Babyl Rwanda was launched in 2016, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In the country’s rural areas, one doctor may serve as many as 60,000 people thanks to the AI-powered platform, the report said. Additionally, over 13,000 consultations are performed weekly.

The report said investment in supportive AI tools can help nurses and community health workers diagnose and treat illnesses traditionally seen by doctors, in the wake of global shortage of healthcare workers.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces particularly acute health challenges. The region currently represents 12 percent of the global population but faces 25 percent of the world’s disease burden, while housing only 3 percent of the world’s health workers.

“Many countries are ill-prepared to address new emerging diseases such as coronavirus in addition to the existing burden of infectious diseases and the ever-increasing tide of chronic diseases. Digital technology and AI are essential enablers to re-engineer health systems,” said Ann Aerts, head of the Novartis Foundation and co-chair of the Broadband Commission Working Group on Digital and AI in Health.

The report also recommends use of artificial intelligence to verify legitimacy of medicines in an era where markets are flooded with counterfeit drugs.

The World Health Organization estimates Africa alone accounts for 42 percent of all globally detected cases of substandard and fake medical products, producing significant death tolls.

The 2019 US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report indicated counterfeit antimalarials alone are estimated to cause 150, 000 deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa.

In an effort to address the counterfeit issue, RxAll, a Nigerian deep-tech startup, has developed a handheld nanoscanner that authenticates drugs and helps pharmacists and patients avoid counterfeits.

The nanoscanner uses AI to verify the legitimacy of medicines at more than 97 percent accuracy with a simple 20-second test that analyzes the infrared wavelength emitted by a drug and cross-checks it against the profile of the legitimate version.

Per the report, AI-powered supply chains can reduce vaccine wastage, noting in Sub-Saharan Africa nearly 40 percent of countries experience national-level shortages of vaccines.

The report said vaccine wastage is likely to occur when predictions and forecasts are inaccurate, something that can be solved with the use of AI-powered predictive supply chains.

The report recommends governments identify and test innovative ways to finance AI in health solutions, noting national reimbursement of digital and AI-enabled health services is key to ensure financial accessibility in the long run for everyone.

“Secure and privacy-preserving data governance needs to be part of ensuring a sustainable infrastructure,” the report said.

africanian

africanian

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Weather in Morocco: Climate, Seasons and Average Temperature

Weather in Morocco: Climate, Seasons and Average Temperature

August 25, 2020
Equatorial Guinea: Dreams Hub Among the Selected by OIF to Drive Green Innovation in the Congo Basin

Equatorial Guinea: Dreams Hub Among the Selected by OIF to Drive Green Innovation in the Congo Basin

June 9, 2025
Top 10 Richest Cities in Africa

Top 10 Richest Cities in Africa

April 6, 2023
Somalia: the female revolution building cities

Somalia: the female revolution building cities

June 14, 2025
India leads a technical response following the Boeing 787 crash

India leads a technical response following the Boeing 787 crash

June 13, 2025
Niger to grow over 6% in 2025, driven by oil boom

Niger to grow over 6% in 2025, driven by oil boom

June 13, 2025
Twitter Instagram Youtube Facebook
No Result
View All Result

Africanian News

Is a dedicated project aimed at amplifying the voices of the African Ecosystem and Diaspora. We actively collaborate with initiatives to improve access to education and digital inclusion, both in traditional schools and through digital platforms, for African children.

It’s crucial to emphasize that none of the articles or images featured on our platform are intended for copyright infringement, neither now nor in the future. If you believe that any information, text, image, etc., may be subject to copyright and should be removed, please notify us by sending an email to [email protected]

Your dreams matter; your stories matter.

Feel free to explore collaboration opportunities with us. Share your articles, thoughts, interviews, experiments, or no-comment videos by reaching out to [email protected]. You can also subscribe to our mailing list to receive the latest updates from Africanian News.

© 2024 Africanian News: From Africa, by Africans, for Africa, and friends of Africa.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • World

© 2024 Africanian News: From Africa, by Africans, for Africa, and friends of Africa.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Log In

Sign In

Forgot password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Back to Login

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Accept

Add to Collection

  • Public collection title

  • Private collection title

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.