Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a transformative opportunity for healthcare in Africa and other developing regions, providing a way to bypass traditional infrastructure limitations and tackle long-standing health inequalities. AI-based solutions can greatly increase access to quality care, improve diagnostic precision, enhance public health monitoring, and boost efficiency in under-served areas and communities. They can optimise supply chain operations, reduce administrative burdens, streamline life-saving compliance procedures, and create new capabilities for safeguarding against public health epidemics that affect the most vulnerable groups. However, realising this potential is currently hindered by significant challenges, including limited availability of quality data, a lack of technical expertise, insufficient digital infrastructure, and major gaps in data governance and public confidence. At present, more impactful use of Medical Artificial Intelligence (MAI) is observed in developed countries compared to Africa. The United Nations has, in two separate forums, highlighted the need to change this situation by bringing together stakeholders to discuss how AI can be used to provide essential public services and support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Africa's healthcare system is a complex landscape marked by great need, facing severe underfunding, extensive infrastructure gaps, and critical shortages of healthcare workers—leading to high rates of preventable diseases and out-of-pocket costs that push people into poverty. AI application in healthcare in Africa has only seen a few pilots and test cases since 1980, primarily in specific countries like Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Ghana. In Kenya, improved interactions between health workers and patients, with evidence of increased symptom reporting, led to the use of AI through the Jacaranda project. This initiative, aimed at reducing child and maternal mortality, uses machine learning and AI-enabled SMS to deliver personalised maternal health information to nearly three million mothers across 23 counties. In The Gambia, a probabilistic decision-making system helped rural health workers identify life-threatening conditions in outpatient clinics. These initiatives utilise AI to address persistent healthcare challenges such as workforce shortages and limited infrastructure, although scaled adoption is hindered by data scarcity, inadequate infrastructure, and early-stage regulatory frameworks. A report, developed under the Researcher-in-Residence Program at the International Centre of Expertise in Montreal on Artificial Intelligence (CEIMIA), with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of AI in healthcare across Africa. The State of AI in Healthcare in Africa report outlines the substantial progress and ongoing challenges in integrating AI within the region's healthcare sector. As shown in this report, the potential of AI—its ability for computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as speech recognition, visual perception, decision-making, and language processing—to revolutionise healthcare delivery in Africa is immense. AI applications are already making significant impacts in areas such as telemedicine, healthcare operations management, medical imaging, diagnostics, data-driven surveillance, and drug discovery by enhancing clinical decision-making, improving patient care, and increasing access to quality healthcare services. The growing adoption is driven by both grassroots innovation and strategic government initiatives. The continent’s young population, expanding mobile connectivity, and rising data science capacity have created a fertile ground for AI-driven health solutions tailored to local contexts. Emerging applications in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, and Rwanda show promise in areas ranging from cancer treatment to drone-based logistics. In Rwanda, Zip Line, a US-based health logistics company, uses drones to overcome the challenge of mountainous terrain, ensuring efficient delivery of medical supplies to rural health centres. This approach not only addresses accessibility issues but also sets a precedent for using technology to overcome logistical obstacles in healthcare delivery. Containment of infectious diseases using mobile phones is another AI application. Kenya is one of the most highly mobile-connected countries per population in Africa, with over 60 million registered SIM cards. This allows real-time access to maternal and newborn healthcare data that can be used to quickly identify and respond to childhood diseases or related challenges. AI technologies have also demonstrated powerful applications in assisting public health authorities across Africa to more effectively monitor, predict, and respond to disease outbreaks and epidemics. For example, during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, IBM researchers collaborated with local health ministries to deploy an AI-powered epidemiological modelling system that incorporated diverse real-time data sources, including clinic reports, to track Ebola. AI in radiology has shown value in selected diagnostic applications and has the potential to improve workflow efficiency, particularly in reporting. In countries such as South Africa and Nigeria, AI technologies are being used to improve diagnostic accuracy and streamline patient care. For instance, LifeQ in South Africa uses AI algorithms to analyse biometric data, providing insights into an individual's health status and potential risks. Additionally, AI-powered telemedicine platforms are emerging in rural areas, enabling patients to access healthcare services remotely. This not only reduces the burden on medical facilities but also ensures that underprivileged groups receive timely medical care. Telehealth and Remote Care Telehealth platforms have also been increasingly adopted across Africa to help bridge the growing gap between patients and healthcare providers, especially in remote and rural areas where physical access to clinics is often severely limited. In a landmark report published in 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) extensively documented how digital telehealth services have shown enormous potential to help overcome challenging geographical barriers that hinder access to in-person medical care. Accessing timely healthcare services presents significant challenges across vast rural regions in Africa. The sparse distribution of qualified medical professionals over long distances means the nearest clinic may be dozens of kilometres away from many communities, and the situation is worsened by the lack of well-developed road infrastructure. While meaningful advances have been achieved, more coordinated efforts across sectors are needed to fully realise the transformative potential of AI and digital health technologies for African communities. Actively engaging governments to establish long-term funding commitments and supportive policies will be crucial, as will partnerships with experienced international NGOs and charitable organisations to strengthen primary care infrastructure, expand telehealth networks, and improve medication access in underserved regions. Finally, the government and all stakeholders are urged to come together to facilitate the necessary focus on AI and digital health in advancing the healthcare sector in Africa. Dr Aluoch is a consultant physician. Email: aluochj@gmail.com Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc.Syndigate.info).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a transformative opportunity for healthcare in Africa and other developing regions, providing a way to bypass traditional infrastructure limitations and tackle long-standing health inequalities. AI-based solutions can greatly increase access to quality care, improve diagnostic precision, enhance public health monitoring, and boost efficiency in under-served areas and communities. They can optimise supply chain operations, reduce administrative burdens, streamline life-saving compliance procedures, and create new capabilities for safeguarding against public health epidemics that affect the most vulnerable groups. However, realising this potential is currently hindered by significant challenges, including limited availability of quality data, a lack of technical expertise, insufficient digital infrastructure, and major gaps in data governance and public confidence. At present, more impactful use of Medical Artificial Intelligence (MAI) is observed in developed countries compared to Africa. The United Nations has, in two separate forums, highlighted the need to change this situation by bringing together stakeholders to discuss how AI can be used to provide essential public services and support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Africa's healthcare system is a complex landscape marked by great need, facing severe underfunding, extensive infrastructure gaps, and critical shortages of healthcare workers—leading to high rates of preventable diseases and out-of-pocket costs that push people into poverty. AI application in healthcare in Africa has only seen a few pilots and test cases since 1980, primarily in specific countries like Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Ghana. In Kenya, improved interactions between health workers and patients, with evidence of increased symptom reporting, led to the use of AI through the Jacaranda project. This initiative, aimed at reducing child and maternal mortality, uses machine learning and AI-enabled SMS to deliver personalised maternal health information to nearly three million mothers across 23 counties. In The Gambia, a probabilistic decision-making system helped rural health workers identify life-threatening conditions in outpatient clinics. These initiatives utilise AI to address persistent healthcare challenges such as workforce shortages and limited infrastructure, although scaled adoption is hindered by data scarcity, inadequate infrastructure, and early-stage regulatory frameworks. A report, developed under the Researcher-in-Residence Program at the International Centre of Expertise in Montreal on Artificial Intelligence (CEIMIA), with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of AI in healthcare across Africa. The State of AI in Healthcare in Africa report outlines the substantial progress and ongoing challenges in integrating AI within the region's healthcare sector. As shown in this report, the potential of AI—its ability for computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as speech recognition, visual perception, decision-making, and language processing—to revolutionise healthcare delivery in Africa is immense. AI applications are already making significant impacts in areas such as telemedicine, healthcare operations management, medical imaging, diagnostics, data-driven surveillance, and drug discovery by enhancing clinical decision-making, improving patient care, and increasing access to quality healthcare services. The growing adoption is driven by both grassroots innovation and strategic government initiatives. The continent’s young population, expanding mobile connectivity, and rising data science capacity have created a fertile ground for AI-driven health solutions tailored to local contexts. Emerging applications in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, and Rwanda show promise in areas ranging from cancer treatment to drone-based logistics. In Rwanda, Zip Line, a US-based health logistics company, uses drones to overcome the challenge of mountainous terrain, ensuring efficient delivery of medical supplies to rural health centres. This approach not only addresses accessibility issues but also sets a precedent for using technology to overcome logistical obstacles in healthcare delivery. Containment of infectious diseases using mobile phones is another AI application. Kenya is one of the most highly mobile-connected countries per population in Africa, with over 60 million registered SIM cards. This allows real-time access to maternal and newborn healthcare data that can be used to quickly identify and respond to childhood diseases or related challenges. AI technologies have also demonstrated powerful applications in assisting public health authorities across Africa to more effectively monitor, predict, and respond to disease outbreaks and epidemics. For example, during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, IBM researchers collaborated with local health ministries to deploy an AI-powered epidemiological modelling system that incorporated diverse real-time data sources, including clinic reports, to track Ebola. AI in radiology has shown value in selected diagnostic applications and has the potential to improve workflow efficiency, particularly in reporting. In countries such as South Africa and Nigeria, AI technologies are being used to improve diagnostic accuracy and streamline patient care. For instance, LifeQ in South Africa uses AI algorithms to analyse biometric data, providing insights into an individual's health status and potential risks. Additionally, AI-powered telemedicine platforms are emerging in rural areas, enabling patients to access healthcare services remotely. This not only reduces the burden on medical facilities but also ensures that underprivileged groups receive timely medical care. Telehealth and Remote Care Telehealth platforms have also been increasingly adopted across Africa to help bridge the growing gap between patients and healthcare providers, especially in remote and rural areas where physical access to clinics is often severely limited. In a landmark report published in 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) extensively documented how digital telehealth services have shown enormous potential to help overcome challenging geographical barriers that hinder access to in-person medical care. Accessing timely healthcare services presents significant challenges across vast rural regions in Africa. The sparse distribution of qualified medical professionals over long distances means the nearest clinic may be dozens of kilometres away from many communities, and the situation is worsened by the lack of well-developed road infrastructure. While meaningful advances have been achieved, more coordinated efforts across sectors are needed to fully realise the transformative potential of AI and digital health technologies for African communities. Actively engaging governments to establish long-term funding commitments and supportive policies will be crucial, as will partnerships with experienced international NGOs and charitable organisations to strengthen primary care infrastructure, expand telehealth networks, and improve medication access in underserved regions. Finally, the government and all stakeholders are urged to come together to facilitate the necessary focus on AI and digital health in advancing the healthcare sector in Africa. Dr Aluoch is a consultant physician. Email: aluochj@gmail.com Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc.Syndigate.info).