Barcelona, Spain – As the world’s largest mobile and tech gathering, Mobile World Congress, kicks off next week in Barcelona, a leading African health official is calling for a paradigm shift in the continent’s tech sector. Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Chief Digital Advisor at Africa CDC, predicts the next decade will be defined by a “health tech revolution,” driven by the urgent need to improve healthcare access across the continent.
For the past decade, Africa’s telecom sector has been dominated by fintech, with six out of seven African tech unicorns emerging from that sector. However, Nsengimana argues that the enormous potential for health tech innovation far outweighs this success. He points to the stark reality that 50% of Africans still lack access to adequate and quality healthcare.
Nsengimana highlighted the transformative power of digital health solutions. He cited studies showing that digital vaccine immunization registries can increase vaccine coverage by 35%, and that better digital antenatal tracking could prevent 25% of maternal mortality. Furthermore, he estimated that improved connectivity and digital transformation within the health sector could lead to annual savings of up to $25 billion.
“This is why the health sector, the telecom sector, and the tech sector need to work more closely together,” Nsengimana emphasized. He urged greater collaboration between ministries of health and technology, and specifically called for stronger partnerships between National Public Health Institutes and National Digital Economy Agencies.
Nsengimana’s call to action signals a potential shift away from the fintech dominance of the past decade and towards a future where technology plays a crucial role in addressing Africa’s critical healthcare challenges. The Mobile World Congress provides a key platform for initiating these vital collaborations and accelerating the health tech revolution across the continent.
