Dr Franck Tchafa told an African Healthcare Association forum that artificial intelligence could become a major force‑multiplier for the continent’s growing health challenges, including staff shortages, delayed diagnoses and unequal access to specialised services.

He warned that AI should be viewed as a tool to strengthen health systems rather than a replacement for clinicians, emphasizing that medical professionals must stay central to decision‑making.

Tchafa highlighted a projected shortfall of 11.8 million health workers by 2030, a gap that is especially acute in rural and underserved areas.

He outlined practical AI applications such as image analysis, disease‑indicator detection, automated report generation and patient‑triage prioritisation, which could free clinicians to focus on complex cases.

The expert cautioned that importing AI solutions without local adaptation may reduce effectiveness, noting that most models are trained on non‑African data and may misinterpret disease patterns linked to different demographics and equipment.

Limited availability of representative African health datasets, fragmented information systems, paper records, inconsistent standards, poor connectivity and unreliable electricity were identified as major barriers to AI deployment.

Tchafa called for coordinated collaboration among clinicians, data scientists, engineers, policymakers and operations teams, and urged African institutions to first define specific health challenges, map clinical workflows and establish evidence requirements before adopting AI tools.

Looking ahead, Tchafa urged African countries to invest in local AI research, infrastructure and talent, citing the continent’s success in leap‑frogging mobile money and renewable energy as models for health‑tech innovation.