Health care in Africa: Emerging technologies at play

Africa is fast becoming a hub for disruptive innovation in healthcare, using emerging technologies to advance discoveries and revolutionize healthcare delivery. Attracting $550 million in investments between 2020 and 2023, “health tech” ecosystems are now emerging across the continent. In 2023, a $21 million investment marked the largest investment ever in a woman-led African health tech company, part of the 2,000% increase in funding for women-led startups between 2022 and 2023. Nearly 350 startups across 27 African countries are working within the digital health supply chain industry alone, having already helped the continent track 98 million vaccines and 72 million other critical health products to prevent waste and reduce costs.

African countries are continuing to move towards full integration of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies into the health industry, motivated by the transformational potential of these tools for the affordability, accessibility, granularity, and quality of health care delivery. According to World Future Health Africa, digital tools and solutions could reduce healthcare costs for patients by 19%, reduce medication errors by 55%, and increase operational efficiency by 30%. AI applications alone could save 1 million African lives by 2030, and remote solutions will help reach over 700 million Africans.

As highlighted in my book Africa’s Fourth Industrial Revolution, the health care sector is particularly ripe for 4IR innovation. With strategic investment and policy implementation, 4IR technologies can help drive Africa toward a sustainable healthcare system with powerful spillover effects on economies and livelihoods.

Trends in the health care sector

Over the past 50 years, Africa has made progress on key health indicators including decreasing under-five mortality rates and the burden of communicable diseases and increasing the number of hospital beds, doctors, and nurses. During this period, Africa’s life expectancy also grew faster than any other region of the world, increasing by 10 years per person on average between 2000-2019. North Africa has seen the most progress, with countries like Algeria, Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia, and Cabo Verde achieving an average life expectancy above the global average in 2023.

Yet key challenges remain within Africa’s health care sector, creating barriers to the growth of a healthy, resilient, and innovative industry. These challenges range from human capital shortages to weak physical infrastructure, lack of financing, and limited disease detection ability.

Trends in emerging technologies that address challenges

Advanced technologies are already at work to address these challenges across the continent, and, if met with strategic policy, can be scaled in a way that transforms the sector.

Internet of Things, cloud computing, and mobile solutions help address human capital shortages

Human capital shortages in the health sector are a major challenge for Africa, which has a worrisome 1 doctor for every 3,000 patients—one-third of the ratio recommended by the WHO—and a projected shortage of 4.3 million doctors by 2035. Africa is home to 25% of the global disease burden but just 3% of the global healthcare workforce. A major increase in trained physicians is critical, especially as the cost of losing trained physicians to high-income countries is high (in a 2011 study, the financial losses sustained as a result of doctors emigrating from 9 countries in sub-Saharan Africa was estimated to equal $2.17 billion). Emerging technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing are opening opportunities to train more doctors and reach more patients through new innovations. Sub-Saharan Africa has a high mobile penetration rate (As of 2023, it’s 44% versus the mobile internet penetration rate of 27% according to GSMA), making it an ideal market for technologies that facilitate telemedicine and doctor and inventory consultations. Using SMS-based services, companies such as Zuri Health are able to use telehealth to reach patients who lack access to the internet, while mobile systems such as mTRAC provide information on medicine inventory at different clinics via SMS, ensuring that rural populations in Uganda will find their medicines in stock after traveling long distances to retrieve them.

3D printing and drone technology help address physical capital shortages

Physical infrastructure also poses challenges for the African healthcare sector, including a low hospital-to-patient ratio and a lack of electricity in certain hospitals. All African countries other than South Africa fall below the global average of 2.7 beds per 1000 people. Emerging technologies such as 3D printing and drone technology can help fill some of these gaps and deliver certain services in the meantime. For example, a Kenyan company called Ultra Red Technologies has been able to 3D print supplies such as face masks and ventilator components, while companies such as Zipline and LifeBank use drones to deliver critical medical supplies including blood and oxygen—thus circumventing challenges to traditional delivery methods such as poor roads or lack of electricity. To make delivery more efficient, Flare, a Kenyan emergency response company, uses location-based data solutions to save lives, having already reduced emergency response times by close to 90%.

Fintech helps address lack of financing

Lack of financing in the health industry—including low national budget allocation and low private sector financing—makes it challenging for health SMEs and startups to scale. Government financing of the health sector is still low, despite countries agreeing to a goal of allocating 15% of their GDP towards health, forcing out-of-pocket expenditure and donor support to fill the funding gap. Fintech, which is already a strong force on the continent, is being used to help finance health costs. Maisha Meds, an operations management software used by over 1500 pharmacies in Africa, uses mobile money to lower drug costs for patients through a digital reimbursement feature. Although finance will continue to be a challenge, the work of new fintech companies such as MicroEnsure, Jamii Africa, and M-Tiba exemplifies the way this technology could bridge financing gaps.

AI, machine learning, blockchain, and biotechnology help address limited disease detection ability

Limited disease detection ability has led Africa to be the least prepared region when it comes to preventing the emergence and spread of pathogens. AI, machine learning, big data, and blockchain can be game changers in this area. AI paired with 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 the sound of a cough. Biotechnology is also a powerful technology that can lead to African-led discoveries, as seen through its role in driving malaria research. Investing in biotechnology can both fuel discovery and ensure that Africans are better represented in the data that fuels genomic research. These types of technologies will help Africa deploy diagnostic tools more effectively, overcome the consequences of doctor shortages, and accelerate African-led health discoveries.

Strategies for effective healthcare delivery as Africa leverages the 4IR

With effective and strategic policy decisions, the potential for the 4IR to transform the African health care industry is within reach. Countries in Africa are already making progress, especially through increased regional efforts to respond to health crises, but more can be done to successfully leverage the 4IR to bridge the gap between health care promise and delivery on the continent. While international cooperation is important, African leaders should also ensure that capacity is unlocked at the continental, regional, national, and local levels, strengthening African institutions such as the African CDC.

At the continental level, an intentional, coordinated, and systematic approach to the health system combining vertical and horizontal approaches would help multiply the benefits of the 4IR. African leaders should also engage the diaspora and friends of Africa to face the human capital shortage, in particular by leveraging digital technology platforms and networks that create opportunities for e-learning and training strategies.

At the national level, a dedicated section of each country’s national government should focus on implementing 4IR tools within the health sector in order to coordinate multi-stakeholder collaboration and ensure timely adoption of the most effective tools. Countries should also engage in private-public-philanthropic partnerships that both increase resources and pool risk, which will help smaller, local health organizations and innovations thrive.

At the regional level, investing in health facility electrification, developing digital infrastructure, and working toward universal access to broadband internet will be key to scaling 4IR technologies in the sector.

At the local level, African leaders should engage local health care leaders and communities focusing on emerging technology adoption. Local banks should also work with the government to receive information on health sector risks and to develop equity-based financing mechanisms for SMEs, which are driving healthcare innovation and therefore must be endowed with more capital.

Agile governance and multi-stakeholder collaboration will be key at all these levels, with each stakeholder—from policymakers and business leaders to philanthropists and civil society—playing a role to create a sustainable health sector that can leverage the unique opportunities provided by advanced technologies.