By Prince Acquah
GNA Special Correspondent, Casablanca
Casablanca, May 07, GNA – The second edition of GITEX Future Health Africa, an ambitious initiative to transform health care systems in Africa through Artificial Intelligence and digital technology, has been scheduled for September 2027.
The next edition would focus strongly on manufacturing, logistics, bioscience, longevity, orthodontics, implantology, ophthalmology, and diagnostics among other areas of critical importance, the organisers announced.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the inaugural event in Casablanca, Madam Trixie LohMirmand, the Executive Vice President and CEO of KAOU International, justified the focus for the next year.
She observed that the Africa region imported 70 to 90 per cent of the pharmaceuticals from other countries, stressing the need to strengthen local manufacturing capabilities and logistics.
Touching on bioscience and longevity, she indicated that the industry would be worth 44 trillion by 2030, for which reason Morocco and Africa must participate and leverage every opportunity in it.
“We here, you in this region, have more talent than anywhere else in the world capable of being an architect of this industry,” she emphasised.
LohMirmand described orthodontics, implantology, and ophthalmology as huge specialised sectors that required AI diagnostics and preventive care to push their frontiers.
“And of course, hospital access is important. You know, the region here in Africa needs 26 billion dollars to invest in infrastructure and as we said before, it’s not about building hospitals.
“It is about what goes in the hospital that will future-proof it so that it is advanced and it is ready to embrace the AI changes and the frontier tech, the quantum computing technology,” she added.
“We really need to work harder to make sure we integrate and aggregate the entire healthcare ecosystem so that we are truly representative of what Morocco and the region can present to the world to dive deep in terms of the breadth as well and the process,” she emphasised.
The maiden edition of the conference closed on Wednesday, with a clarion call for Africa to transition from technology consumer to creating and owning it.
The revolutionary three-day event rallied hundreds of global leaders and professionals in health care, scientists, innovators, startups, investors, policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to transform African’s healthcare system, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging digital technologies.
The conference was organised by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Sciences and Health (FM6SS), the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Morocco, and KOAUN International under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Prince Acquah
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