NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 1 -At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage healthcare systems and economies across the globe, a new study has revealed that there has been an exponential rise in the number of people engaging with digital health services in Africa.
Vodacom’s e-health policy paper, which analyzed personal insights from recipients across the continent, noted that many people are now able to access digital health services through their smartphones thus creating a vast potential for countries to deliver access to healthcare digitally.
Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub, in a statement, said the pandemic opened a lot of possibilities in the healthcare space and provides an opportunity to improve health outcomes at decreased costs.
“In many ways, the pandemic has also opened our eyes to new possibilities in the healthcare space. Our ability to deliver on the promise of digital solutions at scale presents an enormous opportunity – not only when it comes to the reach of healthcare services, but also to dramatically improved health outcomes at decreased costs,” he said.
The report revealed that 41 out of 54 African countries now have formal government digital health strategies and architecture and there has been an exponential rise in adoption of smartphones with mobile data access reaching 49percent of all users as of 2019.
“Consumers are dramatically increasing their engagement with digital health services via their smartphones. It is forecast that by 2025, smartphone reach in sub-Saharan Africa will increase by almost 70%,” the report noted.
The report further lauded the private sector contribution towards the growth in the adoption of smartphones following the increase in network coverage which has enabled informal engagement with digital health.
“Data shows that 41 percent of internet users across Africa regularly use their mobile phones to search for health information and that digital health apps have also seen increased usage during the pandemic,” it added.
It nonetheless, highlighted that the use of digital health systems presents a real threat through social media noting that 69 percent and 55 percent of South Africans and Kenyans found false health information online.
“There is also a significant risk in circumventing formal systems. Concerns range from privacy and the security of personal data to medical misinformation,” the report indicated.
In order to leverage the rise in usage of digital health solutions and integrate them into the formal health system, the report urged for more public-private partnerships in order to avert the risks associated with the provision of healthcare services outside formal systems.
“To avoid the risks associated with healthcare workers and citizens going outside of formal systems, the architecture of a national health ecosystem must be led by Government. Government can more effectively manage the digital health ecosystem, encouraging the integration of effective start-ups into formal systems and regulating those that could cause harm and spread misinformation,” it added.
