With just 15% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for 50% of global deaths from communicable diseases. The African healthcare system grapples with a multitude of challenges that hinder the delivery of quality care to its population. One of the most pressing issues is the severe shortage of healthcare professionals. According to the World Health Organisation as of 2022, the African region has only 1.55 healthcare workers per 1,000 population, far below the WHO threshold density of 4.45 per 1,000 needed to deliver essential health services and achieve universal health coverage. This scarcity of trained medical staff puts an immense strain on the already overburdened healthcare infrastructure.
Tag Archives: Medicine in Africa
People living in the African continent have traditionally had limited access to modern resources, including quality medical care. This has led dozens of talented medical professionals to uproot and open their very own medical practice in the heart of Africa. While this is a noble pursuit, relocating to an entirely new continent can be a […]
Upwards of 5000 health professionals and 200 international and regional companies have registered for this year’s Africa Health Conference, which got underway today (Monday). The largest health conference in Africa, this online event brings Africa’s healthcare industry together to discuss and explore innovative new thinking and solutions around Africa’s healthcare challenges. Now in its 10th year, […]
The Covid-19 pandemic has placed a severe strain on the health system in the world and many healthcare workers have been stretched far beyond their capacity. For most African countries, balancing a response to the pandemic with the challenges of providing universal health care has highlighted the need for resilient health systems that will address […]
How can new digital ways of working in the healthcare sector improve outcomes for patients to increase global health equity in the COVID-19 era and beyond? And do we have reason to be optimistic? These were the questions tackled by a panel of globally recognised health-tech experts in a recent webinar for the African healthcare […]
A new paper on Cerebral Palsy, published in the South African Medical Journal, challenges commonly held views on the subject and suggests that the causes of this tragic condition may be far more complex and multi-faceted. Commonly held assumptions that CP arises as a direct result of preventable adverse events during childbirth inform the current […]
With healthcare inflation continually on the increase, medical schemes must find ways to keep contributions as affordable as possible for their members while still ensuring that they receive quality of care. One of these ways is through negotiation with groups of hospitals, doctors and pharmacies for better tariffs in return for directing members their way. […]
Following a pre-Series A round of USD 3 million, Webrock, the investment company that brought the number one digital health app in Brazil to South America, and Healthforce, a digital health company majority-owned by South Africa’s leading retail pharmacy chain Dis-Chem, will be taking the cutting-edge technology behind the second most downloaded doctor app in Europe, Doktor.se, to Africa. Doing […]
Research released this week show the real potential that technology has in the effective delivery of primary healthcare services across South Africa. The research, says trans-disciplinary health consultancy Percept, should be used as a road map to better healthcare services for all in the country. “We looked at practical examples from across Africa and researched […]
AURA, South Africa’s leading security and medical response platform, recently announced its expansion into Kenya, followed closely by a move into the UK where it aims to have over 10,000 users receiving the company’s service within seven months. Later this year, the startup will look at possible expansions in Mexico and Nigeria. Warren Myers, AURA’s CEO […]
- 1
- 2