NAIROBI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Strategic deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa's public health systems will be key to containing the continent's high disease burden and alleviating poverty and underdevelopment, scientists said Wednesday at a virtual forum.

Convened by Science for Africa Foundation (SFA), a Nairobi-based non-profit body that promotes science and innovation in Africa, the virtual forum hailed the potential of AI in revolutionizing disease surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment on the continent.

Thomas Kariuki, the chief executive officer of SFA, urged African countries to set up policy and regulatory safeguards that are key to facilitating a seamless and ethical deployment of AI in healthcare to boost efficiency.

"Harnessing AI for better health outcomes across the continent is critical. We must shape a future where emerging technologies, including AI are used to fix the fragile healthcare systems in Africa," Kariuki said.

He said that African countries must also address skills and infrastructural bottlenecks that have derailed the AI adoption in healthcare.

The African Union and other regional blocs have endorsed a comprehensive roadmap to guide AI governance, access, safety and affordability to help revolutionize healthcare, minimize threats posed by pandemics, said Uzma Alam, the policy and data lead at the SFA Foundation.

According to Alam, AI can help reduce health inequities on the continent and governments need to step up investments in research, innovation and data centers to support its large-scale deployment in health facilities.

Fatai Aremu, the executive director of Research Enterprise Systems, a think tank based in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, said that the integration of AI in Africa's healthcare systems will boost the reporting, detection and treatment of disease-causing pathogens, easing pressure on clinicians.

Aremu called for the establishment of innovation hubs, joint research and data sharing, improved governance and capacity building in order to hasten the integration of AI in the continent's healthcare ecosystem. Enditem

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