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ChiP - Children’s rights to health, protection, promotion and participation

EBITech

Accelerating digital transformation in African health systems while leaving no one behind.

The digital transformation of healthcare in Africa presents both a tremendous opportunity and a complex challenge.

Project manager at MDU

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External project members:

  • Dr. Felix Sukums, Associate Professor, MUHAS.
  • Dr. Josephine Sundqvist, Generalsekreterare, Läkarmissionen International.

The continent faces significant health system constraints, such as underfunded infrastructure, a shortage of skilled healthcare professionals, and limited access to essential health services. In this context, digital technologies offer a promising pathway to address these challenges through innovative solutions.

However, to ensure a long-term, sustainable transformation, it is essential to adopt a model that fosters cross-sector collaboration. The Quadruple Helix model offers a robust framework for accelerating digital change while ensuring that progress is inclusive, sustainable, and equitable.

Building on this model, a unique collaboration was formed between Läkarmissionen International, Muhimbili University of Health, and Mälardalen University, aimed at accelerating digital transformation within African health systems, with Tanzania serving as a catalyst for change.

The Quadruple Helix model emphasizes the importance of engaging four critical stakeholders in driving innovation:

  • Government: Providing public policy and regulatory frameworks that create an enabling environment for digital health.
  • Industry: Driving technological innovation and supplying the necessary resources to scale digital health solutions across the region.
  • Academia: Advancing knowledge, conducting research, and providing evidence-based solutions to inform effective practices and policies.
  • Civil Society: Ensuring that underserved populations are represented and advocating for user-centered design in digital health solutions.

By leveraging the combined strengths of these four sectors, the Quadruple Helix model offers a promising pathway to accelerate digital transformation in African health systems, addressing the continent’s healthcare challenges. This collaborative approach has the potential to not only improve access to healthcare and health outcomes but also foster socioeconomic development. It positions Africa—empowered by its large, young population—as a leader in digital health innovation, ensuring that progress is inclusive, sustainable, and equitable for all.

The main goal is to reduce the digital health equity gap between the Global North and South, ensuring that all populations have equal access to transformative digital solutions that enhance health and socioeconomic development.

Project objectives

  1. Enhance capacity in digital health research, governance and leadership:
    Strengthen the expertise in digital health research, governance, and leadership to ensure the effective development, implementation, and management of digital health initiatives that align with local needs and priorities.
  2. Strengthen digital literacy across various levels:
    Promote digital literacy among healthcare professionals, policymakers, community health workers, and the general population, empowering them to effectively utilize digital health tools and drive improvements in healthcare delivery and improve health outcomes.
  3. Foster synergies among key stakeholders:
    Establish a collaborative platform that facilitates sustainable partnerships and networks among governments, the private sector, academic institutions, and civil society organizations, enabling the co-creation and scaling of inclusive and equitable digital health solutions.

Main Objective

To establish an inclusive, sustainable, and equitable digital health ecosystem by applying the Quadruple Helix approach, fostering collaboration across government, industry, academia, and civil society.

Activities

  • Develop capacity building and training programs
  • Organize leadership training programs
  • Develop Joint research projects
  • Create policy and governance frameworks: Establish Public-Private partnerships
  • Community outreach initiatives: Conduct workshops and webinars
  • Organise and host the Tanzania Digital Health and Innovation Week annually held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This week aims at bringing together multisectoral stakeholders within the digital health ecosystem, sharing best examples and co-creating new ideas for innovation.