The Health Tech Platform works to improve policy and regulatory frameworks to facilitate the development and use of transformative technologies and tools for tackling health challenges at national and regional levels in Africa.
Technology is key to accelerating Africa’s development trajectory, as envisioned in the African Union (AU)’s Agenda 2063 and long-term national development strategies. However, the lack of clear policies and regulatory pathways on how to develop, test and deploy at scale many of the emerging health technologies hinder their development and advancement.
The Platform aims to provide technical support to African countries to develop the relevant policies and regulatory pathways to guide the development, testing and adoption of the most promising of these technologies. In doing this, the Platform’s work complements and enriches the efforts of African Union Development Agency (AUDA/NEPAD). The AUDA/NEPAD supports countries to build capacity and to establish the necessary regulatory frameworks for research on emerging technologies, including the gene drive technology for elimination of malaria. To advance this work, the Health Tech Platform conducts the following activities:
- Collaboration between AUDA-NEPAD and AFIDEP in hosting country-level and regional meetings and dialogues with relevant government agencies on the implementation of the recommendations of experts and panels such as the AU High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET).
- Engaging with relevant agencies in member countries, such as the Ministry of Health to identify gaps in the national policy frameworks that regulate the development of technologies, and provide recommendations to promote the appropriate use of emerging technologies to improve health outcomes.
- Establishing country-level and regional partnerships to spearhead project implementation at national and regional levels.