Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare in Africa.

Abstract

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 and infectious and non-communicable diseases—using digital technology including artificial intelligence (AI). AI is defined as the automation of activities associated with human thinking such as decision-making, problem-solving, and learning (1). AI 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) (3). 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 (4). At present, a more meaningful application of MAI occurs in developed nations compared with what is obtained in Africa. The United Nations in two different forums has signaled a need to change this narrative by bringing stakeholders together to discuss how AI can be used to deliver critical public services and help in the journey toward achieving the SDGs (5). In this paper, we briefly highlight contemporary MAI use in Africa, along with its opportunities, challenges, and likely prospects.