To address the acute shortage of staff and health infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) can improve access to care and the quality of care, and support health professionals in their decisions.
Rwanda indeed has only one doctor for every 1,000 patients. “Horizon 1000” is the project developed by the Gates Foundation and the American company OpenAI in partnership with the Rwandan government aimed at addressing the acute shortage of health professionals in the country.
Tested for two years in around fifty Rwandan dispensaries, this project could subsequently be deployed in 1,000 health centers across the African continent, if the results are conclusive.
This application will be deployed in 50 dispensaries for a duration of two years. This investment of 50 million dollars “aims to improve access to care and to strengthen – and not replace – clinical judgment,” says a senior official from the Rwandan Ministry of Health, Andrew Muhire.
Granted, it was created and developed in English, a language little spoken in Rwanda where 75% of the population communicates in Kinyarwanda.
Remains to be seen whether the results will be conclusive or not since the application could also be deployed in 1,000 health centers spread across the entire African continent.
