Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare in Africa

Digital technology will play a significant role in achieving sustainable human development worldwide. In 2015, United Nations Member States set 17 goals, The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to provide a road map for the achievement of Earth’s peace and human prosperity by 2030. SDG 3 as one of the goals which is aimed at ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, will greatly benefit from the implementation of digital technology. With over a billion people, Africa can be better positioned to surmount its health challenges -especially regarding maternal and child health, infectious and non-communicable disease- using digital technology including artificial intelligence.Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as the automation of activities associated with human thinking such as decision-making, problem-solving and learning.1AI was first used in medicine in the 1970s when medical expert systems – based on Bayesian statistics and decision theory – diagnosed and recommended treatments for glaucoma and infectious disease.2 Progress in Bayesian networks, artificial neural networks, and hybrid intelligent systems in the late 1990s has scaled up bioinformatics research; thereby expanding uptake of Medical Artificial Intelligence (MAI).7 Global investment in MAI is projected to hit about $6.6 Billion by 2021 as it is anticipated that AI implementations in healthcare can help save $150 Billion in costs by 2026.8At present, a more meaningful applicat...