The Platform for Dialogue and Action on Health Technologies in Africa (Health Tech Platform) is an initiative of the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) and African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD). The Platform was established to facilitate informed, objective, transparent, open and balanced discussions on the development and use of emerging tools and technologies to address key health challenges in Africa.
In this episode, we explore the transformative potential of gene editing with Prof. Olalekan Akinbo, Acting Head of the Genome Editing Programme at AUDA-NEPAD. Prof. Akinbo breaks down what gene editing is, highlights recent advancements, and discusses how Africa can harness this technology to tackle its high disease burden. We also dive into public perceptions, the importance of better communication, and the policy landscape around gene editing in Africa. Listen to this insightful conversation on how emerging health technologies can shape Africa’s future.
3 Mar 2025TRANSCRIPT
Drones in Africa’s Health Systems
How are drones transforming healthcare in Africa? From delivering life-saving medical supplies to overcoming logistical hurdles, unmanned ariel vehicles (UAVs) are redefining access to essential health services. In this episode, we sit down with Mrs. Sylvia Yissa, Deputy Director of Education at Nigeria’s FCT Education Secretariat, to explore the potential, challenges, and future of drone technology in Africa’s health sector.
7 Jan 2025TRANSCRIPT
Applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa’s Health Systems
Did you know that artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping Africa's health sector? In this episode of the Health Tech Africa podcast, we explore how AI is transforming health systems to tackle Africa's disease burden.
Our expert panel includes:
• Lavina Ramkissoon, Technology and Data Expert
• Darlington Akogo, Founder & CEO, minoHealth AI Labs
6 Jan 2025
Genetically Based Vector Control Technologies for Reducing Africa’s Infectious Disease Burden
Infectious diseases like malaria continue to claim lives in Africa. Could genetically based vector control (GBVC) technologies be the game-changer?
Listen to the Health Tech Africa podcast as we dive into the science, ethics, and potential of GBVC technologies in Africa with a stellar panel of experts:
Dr Barbara Glover, Programme Manager Integrated Vector Management at African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)
Dr Moussa Savadogo, Biotechnology Regulations Expert
Dr Basiliana Emidi, Medical Entomologist at Tanzania’s National Institute for Medical Research
17 Dec 2024
The Role of Emerging Health Technologies in Advancing Domestic Health Financing
In this episode of Health Tech Africa podcast, Dr Elizabeth Wangia, Director of Health Financing at the Ministry of Health in Kenya unpacks the intersection between technology and domestic health financing. As health systems strive to provide accessible, efficient, and equitable care, emerging technologies are paving the way for innovative solutions to optimise resource generation and allocation.
10 Dec 2024
Blockchain Technology and Opportunities in African Healthcare
When you hear blockchain technology, your mind might jump straight to finance—cryptocurrency, anyone? But did you know blockchain could revolutionise healthcare too? In this episode of Health Tech Africa podcast, Joseph Berkoh, Founder and Innovation Lead of Fixxies Technologies, explores how blockchain can tackle healthcare challenges and unlock new opportunities across Africa.
26 Nov 2024
The One Health Approach for the African Context
Prof. Emmanuel Kaunda and Dr Henson Kainga explore the One Health approach and its practical application in Africa, unlocking more effective disease prevention and control strategies.
25 Nov 2024
Emerging Technologies for Maternal and Child Health
Dr Gloria Amegatcher shares insights on emerging technologies improving maternal and child health outcomes in Africa.
5 Nov 2024
Genomic Medicine: The Value of Genes for Healthcare
Prof. Nicki Tiffin shares insights on the potential of genomic medicine to improve health outcomes in Africa, empowering the continent to harness its genetic data for better healthcare.
31 Oct 2024
Facilitating Therapeutics in Africa
In this podcast episode, Ms Chimwemwe Chamdimba, Head of African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization Initiative at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), shares insights on pressing issues of local pharmaceutical production in Africa: from technologies needed to enhance production to initiatives driving local pharmaceutical production.
29 Oct 2024
Fundamentals of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMTs) for Improved Health in Africa
In this episode of the Health Tech Africa podcast, Dr William Wasswa, Senior Lecturer and HoD of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering at Mbarara University, discusses the impact and role of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) in Africa’s healthcare system – how it's advancing health outcomes, current usage levels across Africa, and its future potential
17 Apr 2024
The AI Revolution for Health in Africa
In this episode of the Health Tech Africa podcast, Dr Chinasa T. Okolo expounds on artificial intelligence (AI) applications in Africa’s health sector. Dr. Okolo is a Fellow at The Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies programme, and a Consulting Expert for the AU-AI Continental Strategy for Africa. AI is a branch of computer science focused on building machines programmed to perform human-like tasks.
28 Mar 2024
Ending TB - Gendered Pathways and Health Tech
In this episode to commemorate World TB Day 2024, Dr Leyla Abdullahi, Senior Research and Policy Analyst at AFIDEP Senior Research and Policy Analyst at AFIDEP, Ms Evaline Kibuchi, Chief National Coordinator of Stop TB Partnership Kenya, and Ms Nkirote Mwirigi, Public Private Collaborations, Human Rights and Gender Coordinator in Kenya’s National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Lung Disease Program, discuss prospects of achieving the global goal to end TB by 2030.
7 Dec 2023
African-Led Discourse on Emerging Health Technologies
In this episode of Health Tech Africa podcast, AFIDEP’s Director of Public Policy and Knowledge Translation, and Head of Kenya Office, Dr. Rose Oronje, shares insights on why conversations on health technologies in relation to the continent are important.
28 Nov 2023
Gender and Health Technologies
In this episode of the Health Tech Africa podcast, Dr Damaris Matoke-Muhia, Principal Research Scientist at Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), takes us through considerations of gender when developing and applying health technologies.
20 Nov 2023
Governance and Regulation of Emerging Health Technologies in Africa
Strong governance and regulatory systems are necessary in ensuring emerging health technologies truly address Africa’s high burden of disease. In this episode of the Health Tech Africa podcast, Dr Roy Mugiira, the Chief Executive Officer of Kenya’s National Biosafety Authority outlines what it would take to institute these strong systems.
7 Jul 2023
The African Union and Emerging Health Technologies
The African Union High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) has singled out ten emerging technologies as priority areas of relevance for Africa’s socio-economic development following an extensive survey. In this episode of the Health Tech Africa podcast, Dr Barbara Glover, Programme Officer of the APET, working at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) outlines the technologies evaluated and recommended and what it means for health on the continent.
31 Jan 2023
Introducing Emerging Health Technologies in Africa
In this episode of the Health Tech Africa podcast, the Project Director of the Platform for Dialogue and Action on Health Technologies in Africa, Professor Richard Mukabana, discusses new technologies that if well developed and proven safe and effective, have enormous potential to eradicate disease on the continent.
Inside a recent episode
Gene Editing and Healthcare Advances in Africa
Published 28 Apr 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] For listeners new to the concept, how would you describe gene editing to a lay person? Thank you so much, Derek. Genome editing principle is just you can compare it to CISO's principle in gene editing. CISO's principle is the principle of cutting, replacement, deleting an insertion in the DNA structure to improve productivity or to eliminate some genetic disorder. That is just in a simple language. If I want to explain it further, it's like when you cut, when a body is cut in wound, which is the CISO's principle, that part has been removed but the body will heal back to eliminate the disadvantaged component of the genome, and that is the language of disorder. […]
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