On November 30, 2023, ICAP presented the November Grand Rounds – Digital Health for the Next Generation: Implications of AI in Africa. 

AI systems consume large amounts of data to make future predictions – this type of digital innovation has major implications for global health. In this Grand Rounds, two experts in AI, health, and policy explored the digital health and AI landscape in the African context. The presentation emphasized both the opportunities and concerns associated with the application of digital health and AI in African health systems, especially highlighting the impact on health policy, health advancement, health disparities, and more.

Presenters

Huguette Diakabana
Huguette Diakabana is a global health and digital transformation practitioner focused on connecting people to quality health care and life-saving technologies. She has deployed technology-based solutions in multiple sectors, including education and global health, in over 30 African, Latin American, and Caribbean countries. She is the outgoing co-chair of the World Health Organization’s Digital Health Technical Advisory Group. She currently works with organizations and governments in implementing impactful technology and AI-based solutions and leveraging data to expand and enhance the quality of health services. She is also a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute’s New Voices program and a faculty member of Harvard Medical School’s Digital Transformation in Healthcare Executive Programs.

Rhuks Ako
Rhuks Ako is an independent consultant and co-founder of the Africa Foundation for Peace and Security (AFPS), a think tank based in South Africa. He has held roles in academia and policy institutions, including the African Union Commission, where he served as a senior analyst with the Political Affairs, Peace, and Security department coordinating the Youth for Peace (Africa) program. He has also worked as a senior analyst in the Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Division (CPEWD) within the Peace and Security Department (PSD). Between 2002 and 2015, he held tenured positions in the law schools of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and University of Hull, United Kingdom.