Moving Africa Towards Sustainable Health Systems via the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Balancing Innovation with the Right to Privacy

This article explores how the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) can transform and enhance sustainable health systems in Africa, supporting the continent’s growth and development goals. The 4IR integrates digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, automation, big data, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), algorithms, and data-driven innovations, offering unique opportunities to address persistent healthcare challenges in Africa. However, this paper will focus specifically on AI systems within the healthcare sector. The paper will investigate how to address AI-related concerns, including privacy rights violations, data exploitation, and the lack of education and training in adopting these advanced technologies in hospitals. The study aims to find a balance between protecting patients’ data and privacy through cybersecurity and effectively utilizing AI systems in healthcare. This balance can be achieved by adopting a robust ethical and legal framework that establishes precise data and privacy protection policies, ensuring that AI systems are used responsibly and in compliance with established standards.

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