Africa is rapidly becoming a hub of disruptive innovation in healthcare, harnessing emerging technologies to advance discoveries and revolutionize healthcare delivery. Having attracted $550 million in investments between 2020 and 2023, “healthtech” ecosystems are now emerging across the continent. The $21 million investment in 2023 marks the largest ever investment in a women-led African health tech company and is part of a 2,000% increase in funding for women-led startups from 2022 to 2023. . Approximately 350 start-up companies are operating in 27 African countries. The digital health supply chain industry alone has already helped track 98 million vaccines and 72 million other critical health products across the continent to prevent waste and reduce costs.
African countries are moving toward the full integration of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies into the healthcare industry, motivated by the transformative potential of these tools to improve the affordability, accessibility, granularity, and quality of healthcare delivery. continues to move towards. According to World Future Health Africa, digital tools and solutions can reduce patient healthcare costs by 19%, reduce medication errors by 55%, and increase operational efficiency by 30%. AI applications alone could save one million African lives by 2030, and remote solutions will help save more than 700 million African lives.
As I highlighted in my book Africa’s Fourth Industrial Revolution, the healthcare sector is particularly ripe for 4IR innovation. With strategic investments and policy implementation, 4IR technologies can have powerful knock-on effects on economies and livelihoods and help propel Africa towards sustainable health systems.
Trends in the healthcare field
Over the past 50 years, Africa has made progress on key health indicators, including a reduction in under-five mortality and the burden of infectious diseases, and an increase in the number of hospital beds, doctors and nurses. Life expectancy in Africa also increased faster than in the rest of the world during this period, increasing by an average of 10 years per person between 2000 and 2019. North Africa is the most advanced, with countries such as Algeria, Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia and Cape Verde achieving life expectancy above the global average in 2023.
However, significant challenges remain within Africa's healthcare sector, creating barriers to the growth of a healthy, resilient and innovative industry. These challenges range from a lack of human capital to weak physical infrastructure, insufficient funding, and limited disease detection capabilities.
Emerging technology trends to address challenges
Advanced technologies are already in use across the continent to address these challenges and, if aligned with strategic policies, can be scaled up in ways that transform the sector.
Internet of Things, cloud computing, and mobile solutions can help address human capital shortages
The lack of human capital in the health sector is a major challenge for Africa. Africa is at an alarming rate of one doctor for every 3,000 patients, one-third of the WHO-recommended ratio, with a projected shortage of 4.3 million doctors by 2035. They account for 25% of the global disease burden, but only 3% of the world's healthcare workforce. Significant increases in trained doctors are important, especially since the cost of losing trained doctors to high-income countries is high (a 2011 study found that doctors emigrated from nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa). The resulting economic losses are estimated to be $2.17 billion). Emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing are opening up opportunities to train more doctors and reach more patients through new innovations. Sub-Saharan Africa has high mobile penetration (44% in 2023, compared to 27% mobile internet penetration, according to the GSMA), making it an ideal market for technology that facilitates telemedicine and doctor and inventory consultations. It becomes. Companies like Zuri Health can use SMS-based services to reach patients who don't have access to the internet using telemedicine. Mobile systems such as mTRAC, on the other hand, provide information on drug stocks in different clinics via SMS, ensuring that people in rural Uganda have access to drug stocks. You can find medicines in stock even after traveling long distances to get them.
3D printing and drone technology can help solve physical capital shortages
Physical infrastructure challenges also exist in Africa's health sector, including low hospital-to-patient ratios and lack of electricity in some hospitals. All African countries except South Africa are below the global average of 2.7 beds per 1,000 people. Emerging technologies such as 3D printing and drone technology can help fill some of these gaps and provide certain services for the time being. For example, a Kenyan company called Ultra Red Technologies can 3D print items such as face masks and ventilator parts, while companies like Zipline and LifeBank are using drones to print supplies such as blood and oxygen. By delivering critical medical supplies, we avoid the challenges of traditional shipping. These methods include bad roads and lack of electricity. Kenyan emergency response company Flare is saving lives by using location-based data solutions to make deliveries more efficient and has already reduced emergency response times by nearly 90%.
Fintech can help solve funding shortages
Lack of funding in the healthcare industry, including low national budget allocations and limited private sector financing, makes it difficult for SMEs and start-ups in healthcare institutions to scale up. Government funding for health remains low, even though countries have agreed to a goal of devoting 15% of GDP to health, forcing them to pay out-of-pocket or provide donor support to fill funding gaps. Fintech is already a strong force on the continent and is being used to help finance healthcare costs. Maisha Meds is an operations management software used by over 1500 pharmacies in Africa that uses mobile money to reduce patient drug costs through digital reimbursement capabilities. While finance continues to be a challenge, the efforts of new fintech companies such as MicroEnsure, Jamii Africa and M-Tiba exemplify how this technology can bridge the funding gap.
AI, machine learning, blockchain and biotechnology can help address limited disease detection capabilities
Limited ability to detect the disease makes Africa the least prepared region in terms of preventing the emergence and spread of pathogens. AI, machine learning, big data, and blockchain have the potential to revolutionize this field. Combining AI and blockchain technology can help verify health documents, secure data storage systems, and accelerate treatment strategies. For example, Ilara Health, founded in Kenya, uses AI to detect respiratory illnesses from cough sounds. Biotechnology is also a powerful technology that can lead to African-led discoveries, as evidenced by its role in advancing malaria research. Investments in biotechnology can not only accelerate discovery, but also ensure that Africans are better represented in the data that fuels genomic research. These types of technologies can help Africa more effectively deploy diagnostic tools, overcome the effects of physician shortages, and accelerate Africa-led health discoveries.
Strategies for effective healthcare delivery as Africa leverages 4IR
With effective and strategic policy-making, the potential for the 4IR to transform Africa's healthcare industry is within reach. While African countries have already made progress, particularly through strengthening regional efforts to respond to health crises, there is still a need to successfully leverage the 4IR to close the gap between health promise and delivery on the continent. could do even more. International cooperation is important, but African leaders must also ensure that African institutions, such as the Africa CDC, are strengthened and capacity is unlocked at the continental, regional, national and local levels.
At the continental level, a deliberate, coordinated and systematic approach to health systems that combines vertical and horizontal approaches will help multiply the benefits of the 4IR. African leaders should also work with the diaspora and African friends to confront human capital shortages, especially by leveraging digital technology platforms and networks that create opportunities for e-learning and training strategies. .
At the national level, specialized departments in each country's central government are responsible for the implementation of 4IR tools in the health sector to coordinate multi-stakeholder cooperation and ensure the timely implementation of the most effective tools. emphasis should be placed on Countries should also engage in private, public, and philanthropic partnerships that both increase resources and pool risk, which will help the growth of small community health organizations and innovation. .
At the regional level, investments in the electrification of health facilities, development of digital infrastructure and efforts towards universal access to broadband internet are key to expanding 4IR technologies in this sector.
At the local level, African leaders should partner with local health leaders and communities to focus on implementing emerging technologies. Local banks should also work with governments to obtain information on health sector risks and develop equity-based financing mechanisms for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are driving medical innovation and need more capital. .
Agile governance and multi-stakeholder collaboration are needed to help build a sustainable health sector where each stakeholder, from policy makers and business leaders to philanthropists and civil society, can take advantage of the unique opportunities presented by emerging technologies. Collaboration is key at all these levels.
