Aid & Development Africa Summit Brings Technology to Close Healthcare Access Gap

Access to healthcare in Africa differs greatly from region to region. The distance one lives to an urban centre determines the access they have to medical services, and is frequently a barrier. Africa holds a quarter of the world’s disease burden yet it is home to only 2% of its doctors. This gap is slowly being filled by innovations and mixed reality technologies that support health SDGs.

While infectious diseases are declining in Africa, non-communicable diseases like cancer are on the rise. Cancer, even in treatable cases, is extremely deadly in Africa due to the lack of access to diagnostic services and treatment. Some regions only have one pathologist per one million people. Sierra Leone roboticist David Sengeh is using artificial intelligence to detect risk of cervical cancer, while Andrew Bastawrous’ “eye-phone” measures sight by taking images of the back of the eye and sending the results to the app. This technology could have a major impact on visual impairment in Africa, where 15% of the world’s blind population lives.

Improved access to technology could drastically improve health in Africa and advance progress towards the Global Goals. Taking place on 27-28 February 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya, the Aid & Development Africa Summit will explore the impact of mixed reality technologies on the African healthcare landscape. The agenda offers an update on regional health programmes and collaborations, as well as innovations and best practice in disease prevention. View agenda http://africa.aidforum.org/agenda

Expert speakers will look into ways to leverage local innovation and engage key stakeholders in order to enable access to crucial health care services in East Africa. Hear from:

• Patrick Meier, International Consultant, World Bank Group / WeRobotics
• Mamadou Biteye, Managing Director, The Rockefeller Foundation
• Amit Thakker, Chair, Kenya Healthcare Foundation
• Kasirim Nwuke, Chief, New Technologies and Innovation, UNECA
• Niklas Danielsson, Senior Immunization Specialist, UNICEF
• Karin Kallander, Senior Research Advisor, Malaria Consortium
• Matthias Boyen, UAV Focal Point - HIV/Aids support project officer, UNICEF
• Jim Nasr, Chief Software Architect, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Michela Martini, Regional Migration Health Specialist for Horn, East and Southern Africa, International Organisation for Migration
• Patrick Paul Onyango, Programme Component Manager, Water Sector Reform, GIZ
...and many more! View full list of speakers here http://africa.aidforum.org/speakers

Join the Aid & Development Africa Summit 2018 to engage with 300+ senior representatives and advisors from regional governments, UN and donor agencies, NGOs, development banks, Red Cross, solutions providers, and technology developers, looking to drive effectiveness of aid and development programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. Save the date and reserve your participation here to be part of the most influential aid and development conference in Africa. Register here http://africa.aidforum.org/register

“It is shocking to see the growing toll that diseases like cancer and diabetes are taking on the people who can least afford healthcare. Governments must act on pledges to prevent these diseases in the first place, and to ensure that people can obtain services to treat them” - Dr Tedros Ad-hanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General

For more information, please visit http://africa.aidforum.org

The Aid & Development Africa Summit advocates for cross-sector approach through inclusive, effective collaboration and coordination between national and international NGOs, government and UN agencies, Red Cross, donors, investors, development banks and the private sector.

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This release was published on openPR.