Seminar
13 May 2025 10:30 — 12:00
Dialogue on AI in diagnostics: Moving from barriers to scalability
On 13 May 2025, ECDPM is organising a roundtable discussion to identify ways by which AI is being leveraged to improve diagnostics and the potential for AI to transform healthcare, while also highlighting the existing (and potential) barriers to access of such services. This will serve as an opportunity to explore strategic ways in which the EU can support AI in diagnostics in Africa.
This roundtable is closed-door and by invitation only.
This roundtable is being held with the financial assistance of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ECDPM and can under no circumstance be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
Background
Africa faces a high incidence of global disease burden of infections and non-communicable diseases, as well as neglected tropical diseases which mostly affect impoverished communities and disproportionately affect women and children (WHO 2022, WHO 2023). Diagnostic insufficiency is a critical challenge to healthcare delivery. Yet the ability to timely diagnose and treat illnesses is a crucial component of effective healthcare. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers opportunities to enhance health outcomes through early disease detection. With the shortage of medical professionals and limited access to quality healthcare in many regions, AI-powered tools for diagnosis are seen as transformative.
There is a growing interest among African policymakers and decision makers to unlock the full potential of AI in the health sector. This political interest is backed up by policy interventions aimed at supporting the growth of the AI innovation ecosystem. AI researchers and innovators are increasing their efforts to develop AI solutions to solve Africa’s health challenges. Some strides have been made in AI use cases in medical imaging for diagnosing Africa’s prevalent diseases - tuberculosis, malaria, and cancer - as well as use of AI in prenatal and maternal diagnostics. However, although AI is playing a critical role in addressing a myriad of challenges that are experienced in the healthcare sector, scaling AI solutions in health care, including in diagnostics, faces many challenges linked to developing adequate regulatory safeguards and encouraging sufficient investment in AI infrastructure.
As diagnostic sufficiency remains a key priority for the AU, Africa CDC and African countries, continued support by the European Union (EU) and other external partners including through innovations such as the use of AI in diagnostics, is important to ensure access to underserved communities. The AU-EU partnership on health provides opportunities to scale the use of AI in diagnostics. The EU can leverage its technological and regulatory expertise to support fostering equitable partnerships with the AU and African countries.
