Rédaction Africa Links 24 with AHIT
Published on 2024-02-02 13:39:09
Technological transformation is being advocated as a solution to the critical healthcare issues facing Africa. Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy of Nigeria, spoke at a breakfast event organized by GAVI and co-hosted by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Zipline during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He emphasized the importance of creating ecosystems that can support and scale innovation to address the challenges faced in Africa.
The Minister pointed to the example of Rwanda, where the government laid the foundation and provided an ecosystem that drove innovation, leading to successful implementation of solutions to address challenges in the country. One of the key issues highlighted is the need for more connectivity in many regions. Despite the presence of numerous facilities, they are often not connected, hindering the potential for development. The necessary infrastructure needs to support investments and enable and facilitate development.
The adoption of health technologies comes at the back of Zipline’s recently introduced drone technology for distributing essential medical commodities to health facilities in Nigeria. Kaduna, Cross River, and Bayelsa states have partnered with the global drone technology company, Zipline, to airlift essential medical products, including vaccines, blood, and other medicines, to several communities. Zipline’s instant delivery system has demonstrated significant improvement in the quality of care, patient outcomes, and satisfaction of healthcare providers.
Tijani believes that investments like that of Zipline need to be recognized as significant drivers of technology and its use to foster development. By investing in the necessary infrastructure and creating supportive ecosystems, Africa can effectively address its challenges and accelerate its development.
The event, under the theme, ‘Innovation at Scale: Ensuring Health and Prosperity’ had other key figures sharing their insights on leveraging technology and innovation to address Africa’s challenges. Contributors emphasized the critical role of technology and innovation in ensuring health and prosperity and the need for collaborative efforts to leverage technology, empower governments, and prioritize investments in healthcare and vaccine development to drive positive change across the continent.
In conclusion, it is evident that technology and innovation have the potential to address the healthcare challenges in Africa and drive positive change. By creating supportive ecosystems and investing in the necessary infrastructure, African countries can effectively confront their challenges and accelerate their development. The adoption of technologies such as Zipline’s drone delivery system has already shown promising results and should be considered as a significant driver of technological advancement in the region. The discussions at the event highlighted the growing consensus on the critical role of technology and innovation in addressing Africa’s challenges and ensuring health and prosperity. It is clear that collaborative efforts and prioritization of investments in healthcare and vaccine development are crucial to drive positive change across the continent.
