China expected to help Africa's health industry

As China steps up its commitment to helping Africa tackle its growing disease burden through the Health Silk Road, an African expert has called for intensified cooperation in digital health solutions and telemedicine as a potential game-changer, by utilizing China's rapid development in digital technology.

Paul Frimpong, the executive director and a senior research fellow at the Ghana-based Africa-China Centre for Policy and Advisory, said that by pairing China's advanced digital health technologies with Africa's expanding connectivity and growing local medical expertise, the two sides could significantly deepen cooperation to benefit millions of patients in the continent.

Speaking ahead of China's annual two sessions, Frimpong said China's resolve for technological innovation and international cooperation provides the potential and opportunity for transformation of the health sector in African countries, which for decades has been constrained by limited financing, technology and medical talents.

Deliberations at the ongoing two sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference touch on a wide range of topics, with technological innovation among the key areas of focus.

Frimpong said China's development in digital health can provide lessons to many African countries. He highlighted several Chinese innovations that are well-suited to African health systems. "Store-and-forward telemedicine, particularly in radiology and dermatology, is highly practical in Africa because it does not depend on constant high-speed connectivity," Frimpong said.

He also pointed to artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostics for tuberculosis screening or maternal ultrasound support as potentially transformative in areas where specialist doctors are scarce.

Smart hospital workflow systems that digitize medical records and reduce patient waiting times can deliver immediate improvements, he added. "While 5G-enabled telemedicine is promising, it should initially focus on referral and teaching hospitals before broader rural expansion,"Frimpong said.

Joint research partnership, he noted, is another key avenue for accelerating innovation. He proposed establishing telemedicine "living labs" in African district hospitals, where Chinese and African researchers can test solutions under real-world conditions.

Beyond service delivery, Frimpong said digital platforms and cloud-based solutions could substantially strengthen disease surveillance and epidemic preparedness. Real-time reporting dashboards linking clinics, laboratories and pharmacies would help shorten the time between detection and response during outbreaks.

However, he stressed that robust data governance, encryption safeguards, and strong national oversight are essential to building trust. Properly implemented, such systems could enhance epidemic preparedness, antimicrobial resistance monitoring, and cross-border coordination — all critical to long term health security in Africa.

Frimpong underscored that telemedicine must be fully integrated into primary healthcare systems to reduce urban-rural disparities.

Looking ahead, Frimpong envisions a transformative China-Africa digital health partnership: interoperable national platforms, large-scale training of African telehealth professionals and strong African-led innovation centers collaborating with Chinese counterparts.

In such a future, patients in rural communities would routinely access remote consultations, surveillance systems would detect outbreaks faster, and African countries would have the capacity to sustain and adapt digital health ecosystems independently. "That," he said, "is what meaningful China–Africa digital health cooperation should look like in practical terms."