By Muniratu Akweley Issah
Accra, September 24, GNA – Mr. Gideon Sarpong Nyamekye, Technical Project Manager, PATH Ghana, has encouraged health professionals to embrace digital technology as an effective tool to improve healthcare delivery.
He said as Ghana modernized, digital technology presented an opportunity to help simplify the life-saving work of health professionals.
Mr. Nyamekye made this observation at a two-day conference in Accra, titled: “Ghanaian Women in Digital Health”, organized by PATH Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in transformative innovation and improving healthcare delivery .
The conference aimed to encourage women in Ghana, especially students and young professionals to learn about digital health and provide them with ideas about the types of work and impact possible in the digital sector.
Mr Nyamekye said digital health is a new field that needs to be studied by professionals and be able to explore its potential benefits.
He said: “One of the key things we’re trying to get across is that digital health is an area that’s still new to people. They have no idea about the specific roles and opportunities in this space. When people hear about digital health, they think it’s a software organization or something, but there are specific roles that can positively impact health delivery.”
“Over the years, when people think of Microsoft, we think of creating solutions, applications for other things, but we should also be mindful that health is an area that we can equally use technology to improve,” he added.
Ms. Fatou Fall, Regional Director of Digital Health Africa, PATH, noted that digital technology has always been a male prerogative, however it was equally important for women to take up the challenge as it is a viable business.
Ms Fall said some women, including herself, had been able to overcome barriers, hence an opportunity for women to take up the mantle and work in the digital space, which had huge benefits while championing the need for mentorship programs for the encouragement of women.
He said with the advent of Artificial Technology (AI), it was necessary for Africa to cultivate its workforce to develop its own kind of artificial intelligence that is suitable for the continent.
Dr. Salamatu Attah Nantogmah, Deputy Director, Department of Information, Monitoring and Evaluation, Policy Planning and Evaluation of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), informed that as Ghana moves towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030, the introduction of Digital technology in healthcare delivery was key.
He said that the effective and efficient use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) will not only translate into better and efficient delivery of health services but will also improve the training of health personnel and research in general.
“The Ghana Health Service has in recent years been advancing digital health initiatives and creating opportunities for innovation in infrastructure systems, workforce, policies and public-private partnerships,” he said.
Dr Nantogmah said ICT will contribute to a better understanding of gaps in the health sector and help create digital solutions to speed up the implementation of good health coverage.
Dr. Afisah Zakaria, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP), acknowledged that digital health was an area full of potential, so the huge opportunities to improve public health outcomes must be seized.
She said: “In Ghana, women are making remarkable strides in the digital fields, yet there is a significant opportunity to further empower and support their contributions, particularly in the growing field of digital health. This focus plays a vital role in promoting gender equality and inclusion in the technology sector, particularly here in Ghana.
The Director General said that the education investment served as a foundation for the empowerment of women, especially in the field of digital innovation.
GNA