Turning technology to help the most vulnerable

... the potential of digital technology to improve health outcomes is undeniable. Many lower tech applications are already well established, with Africa and Asia able to leapfrog tardy investments in fixed-line telecoms systems and rapidly develop mobile networks to reach the most rural, isolated and low-income families. To narrow the enormous gap between richer and poorer parts of the world, some argue there is no alternative but to embrace higher-tech approaches. “Africa has 15 per cent of the world’s population and a quarter of the global health burden but only 3 per cent of healthcare workers and 1 per cent of healthcare expenditure,” says Sangu Delle, managing director of Ghana-based Africa Health Holdings, which invests in several companies exploring AI. “Technology has to be part of bridging the gap or it will be impossible to respond.”