Cape Town - Improving healthcare in Africa will require sustainable tech-driven innovations and the inclusion of digitisation into policy agendas, according to health experts.
This will be one of the key themes at this year’s Africa Health Conference, set to get under way in October in Midrand, Gauteng.
Conference producer, Cynthia Makarutse, said that technological advancements have permeated every sphere of medicine and healthcare in Africa, including pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, 3D printing, and IT infrastructure.
“Ever-advancing healthcare tech is presenting new opportunities to deliver the medicine, technology, and human capacity to the people and places where they are needed most, and helping industry leaders balance the drive for resilient, inclusive Universal Healthcare with the reality of constrained human, medical, and technological resources,” she said.
The conference is expected to host over 8 000 people representing 56 countries and is organised by the Informa Markets’ Global Healthcare Group.
From healthcare professionals from across the continent, to industry leaders and policymakers, these experts will discuss the critical role played by digitisation and technology in forging a sustainable path for Africa’s often highly constrained health systems.
The topics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Covid-19 recovery, and digital solutions in the healthcare industry will be covered by expert panels.
“Entire new sub-fields within the healthcare industry, such as informatics and HIEs have emerged around these technologies and are already driving the evolution of Africa’s healthcare systems,” says Makarutse.
Celebrated field leaders expected at the conference will include Prof Richard Pitcher, jead of Radiodiagnosis at the University of Stellenbosch, Matsie Lerefolo, clinical project manager at LTE Medical Solutions, and Dr Jaishree Naidoo, paediatric radiologist and CEO of Envisionit Deep AI.
“Beyond simply following the developed world, Africa has the potential to lead in the R&D, production, and manufacture of innovative tech-driven healthcare solutions tailored to our unique healthcare challenges,” said Makarutse.
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