Africa’s medical regulators converge on Accra

President John Dramani Mahama has urged stronger regulation of Africa's healthcare sector to safeguard patients amid the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), telemedicine, and cross-border healthcare. Mahama highlighted the need for regulation to keep pace with advancements and changing healthcare demands, stressing that unsafe practices could jeopardize lives.

During the opening of the 28th Annual Scientific Conference of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) in Accra, Mahama emphasized that regulation should ensure licensed professionals are adequately trained, assessed, and adhering to professional and ethical standards. He warned that regulation should not be seen as a bureaucratic hurdle but a public protection measure.

The President shared a recent incident in Ghana where a digital medical records system provider demanded extra payments and later shut down, necessitating the retrieval of old records and the deployment of a new system. Mahama questioned responsibility in cases where health professionals treat patients across borders via telemedicine or when AI contributes to harmful medical decisions.

He advocated for robust regulations to protect health data and prevent misuse of digital platforms for fraudulent or unsafe practices. Mahama stressed that AI should augment human judgment, not replace it, and cautioned against AI systems trained on data that did not accurately represent African patients, as such systems could lead to incorrect diagnoses and pose serious risks.

He called for increased cooperation among African health regulators to combat fake qualifications, forged licenses, and professional impersonation, urging that countries not become havens for sanctioned practitioners. Regarding universal health coverage, Mahama announced Ghana's efforts to strengthen the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), aiming to cover 90% of the population.