ETHIOPIA— The Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC), has begun embarking on the implementation of its digital transformation strategy to help in the execution of the New Africa Public Health Order set out at the 77th United Nations Assembly.
The digital transformation strategy has two main objectives that include, making Africa CDC an informatics-savvy institution and supporting member states to strengthen their public health systems as set out in the public health order.
This is by understanding that through the increasing penetration of mobile phones and other digital technologies in Africa, they offer a unique opportunity to harness this potential and improve health outcomes for all Africans.
The strategy will spearhead the implementation of the New Africa Public Health Order, it will leverage existing technologies as well as create new ones, to strengthen member states’ responses to public health emergencies and to build resilient health systems across the continent.
The digital transformation seeks to achieve 10 key benefits, including accessibility, quality, affordability, equity, capacity, opportunity, capabilities, efficiency, accountability, and scalability.
This is through flagship initiatives such as HealthConnekt Africa to connect all health facilities and community health workers.
Additionally, a Public Health Informatics Fellowship, an annual HealthTech Summit, a Digital Innovation and Data Sandbox, and an initiative to fast track the digitization of primary health care and strengthen integrated disease surveillance and response.
Part and parcel of these initiatives will be to tackle the inclusion of people that are marginalized from the digital health sector which will see more minority groups play a key role in the strategy.
The implementation of the strategy is currently led by eminent experts in digital health policy and strategy, data analytics, systems, business, and product engineering.
All the executive and implementation activities are organized by a Digital Delivery and Innovation Team as well as a Project Management Officer who will support member states as they domesticate the flagship initiatives.
The combined expertise and resources from member states, the African Union, Development Partners, and local digital health ecosystems will usher in a digital health revolution with an impact that is comparable to how mobile payments revolutionized financial inclusion.
Dr. Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Africa CDC’s Chief Digital Advisor said, “Africa’s growing digital native population combined with increased penetration of digital technologies and literacy present a historic opportunity to rethink how health interventions are designed and delivered.’’
According to the digital transformation strategy background research study, at least 40 member states have digital health strategies and while some have started to implement them, others gather dust on shelves.
The strategies are sometimes overly ambitious, leaving countries overburdened with unrealistic goals rather than small, solvable problems states the strategy.
A top priority for leaders in the healthcare sector as denoted by the African CDC is to ensure that every health facility, front-line health worker, and patient is connected to the Internet by 2030.
Furthermore, the integration of the health sector and the digitization of frontline health services are crucial for Africa to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.
According to the Global Health Security Consortium, digital health can be applied in various areas, including immunization registries, appointment registration, and patient communication.
Other areas include clinical trial enrollment, integration with diagnostics and labs, clinical decision support, population targeting, and collection of real-world evidence to support healthcare products.
Efforts like those of Rwanda, which hosts The HealthTech Hub Africa working with startups and governments to foster health innovations, serve as an inspiration for other member states to develop and nurture homegrown solutions.
The Africa CDC also highlighted other initiatives in its digital transformation strategy, such as Afya Rekod, a blockchain platform based in Nairobi that enables individuals to store their health information digitally.
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a significant paradigm shift, as noted in the African CDC policy document “The New Public Health Order: Africa’s Health Security Agenda.”
Recognizing the need to address deep-rooted structural deficiencies in public health at national, regional, and global levels, the African Union, through the Africa CDC, launched a framework for action.
This framework aims to strengthen the self-sufficiency of African public health systems, address global imbalances, amplify Africa’s collective voice in global health matters, and enhance the continent’s preparedness and response to disease threats.
In recent years, Africa CDC has made significant progress in leveraging technology to improve healthcare outcomes in its programs.
In March 2023, the GSMA and the Africa CDC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to harness the transformative power of mobile connectivity in addressing Africa’s most pressing healthcare challenges.
Under the MOU, both parties agreed to collaborate on designing, developing, and promoting technology policies, initiatives, and investments that will strengthen health systems and ultimately enhance the lives and well-being of African citizens.
The goal is to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies to support the public health objectives of African Union Member States, including enabling continuity of care across borders.
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