Dear subscriber,
There is plenty of new AI technology to support African healthcare. But who dares to use what? How do you know what is proven… and where charlatans lurk?
Treezer Michelle Atieno - Editor
The biggest barrier to rolling out AI tools in African healthcare is a lack of credibility. Physicians and hospitals are unsure which new tech is safe and valuable. A new $60 million initiative, Evidence for AI in Health, will now fund locally led assessments of AI tools to generate the evidence required for adoption in disease prediction, diagnostics and health records.
The project, backed by the Wellcome Trust, the Gates Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation, is implemented by the African Population Health Research Centre. It evaluates tools that already exist or are close to deployment in health systems.
Hospitals, donors and other health partners will be able to procure AI tools based on local data on effectiveness, which is mostly missing now, limiting proliferation.
Our take: African innovators need structured support to convince buyers and build credibility with investors…Read more (2 min)
Global health coordination is increasingly challenged by geopolitical competition and fragmented governance. In this op-ed, Michael Ouma, a global health analyst, explains how competing blocs complicate outbreak response and how regional resilience and negotiated data-sharing can keep pandemic response functional in Africa.
"Blocs prioritise the health security of their own regions and develop parallel supply chains for pharmaceuticals. The result is a global health system weakened at its most critical junctures: early detection, transparent reporting and equitable distribution."
He argues that embracing solution-focused approaches like cooperation is essential to prevent future pandemics from becoming catastrophic.
Read the full opinion…Read more (2 min)
This quarter our Healthcare tech tracker reviews six emerging technologies relevant to Africa, three of which target tuberculosis. AI-powered digital stethoscopes enable early TB screening, the Lung Flute ECO by Aurum Institute provides non-invasive TB testing for children and a low-cost biosensor detects TB alongside cancer and long Covid.
The quarterly tracker highlights technologies in infectious disease control, climate-health, vaccination, nutrition and last-mile delivery. While TB tech tops the list, there are additional technologies in the list.
These include Africa CDC’s Central Data Repository for integrating continental health data, molecular malaria surveillance systems for early intervention and Zendawa’s AI platform for last-mile pharmacy delivery.
Our take: TB remains Africa’s most pressing infectious disease challenge and the new technologies will only transform care if made accessible to the most vulnerable…Read more (2 min)
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Source: UNDP
Burundi launches its first five solar-powered health facilities under the United Nations Development Programme Smart Facilities for Health initiative
Events
🗓️ Plan to be at the Primary Health Care Congress Kenya (March 4)
🗓️ Register for the Africa Health Business in Kenya (April 21)
🗓️ Participate in World Health Summit in Kenya (April 27)
Jobs
🧑⚕️Be an Immunisation Coordinator at IRC (Chad)
🧑⚕️Apply to be a Regional Technical Polio Advisor at FHI360 (West Africa)
🧑⚕️Join CHAI as a Program Manager, Health Systems (Côte d'Ivoire)
Various
💉 Declining funding undermines Africa’s vision to eliminate malaria
💉 France cuts funding for Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria
💉 Africa CDC partners to advance health innovation across Africa
Seen on LinkedIn
Chepkirui Kosgei, a nurse, says, “Digital health is advancing fast. New systems. New dashboards. New artificial intelligence tools. But no one is talking enough about digital etiquette in health.Digital etiquette means showing up professionally, even in virtual consultations.”