By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The World Health
Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Prof. Mohamed Janabi, has
called for African countries to move beyond investing in digital health systems
and focus on turning health data into actionable intelligence that can improve
decision-making and healthcare delivery.
Prof. Janabi said artificial
intelligence (AI) could play an important role in strengthening primary
healthcare across the continent, but stressed that its adoption must be
responsibly governed, evidence-based and aligned with national priorities.
“Africa has invested in
digital health systems. The next step is turning data into health intelligence
that improves decisions at every level of care,” Prof. Janabi said.
He noted that AI could
support better decision-making within primary healthcare systems when deployed
appropriately, but argued that technological adoption should not be measured
simply by the amount of AI being used.
According to Prof. Janabi,
African countries must take ownership of the transformation and play an active
role in shaping how AI is developed and applied within their health systems.
“Our countries must be
owners and shapers of this transformation,” he said.
He added that the ultimate
measure of success should be whether the use of AI contributes to better health
outcomes and improves the quality of care delivered to people.
“The measure of success is
not how much AI we use, but whether people receive better care because of the
decisions it helps us make,” Prof. Janabi said.
