An important part of the event week was the Tanzania Digital Health and Innovation Forum 2024, which took place at the East African Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Sciences in Dar es Salaam and focused on the topic “Public-Private Partnerships in Advancing Tanzania's Digital Health Transformation”. Henrik Hülsmann, research associate for digital health in an international context at HNU, offered forum participants an interactive workshop dedicated to the transformative potential of generative AI (GenAI) in healthcare. The main topics discussed were ethical challenges - including data protection and biases caused by algorithms as well as the question of responsibility in AI-driven decisions. Using practical examples, including from Tanzania, the HNU researcher highlighted successful implementations of generative AI while illustrating a possible application in a live demonstration. The workshop concluded with impulses on how innovation and ethical responsibility must be balanced in order to use GenAI effectively and inclusively.
Using digital tools to provide more comprehensive healthcare
The Zanzibar Digital Health Seminar brought together representatives from the Zanzibar Ministry of Health, academia, civil society and business in Zanzibar to discuss the role of transdisciplinary collaboration in improving healthcare in Zanzibar. A highlight of the seminar was the distribution of 200 cell phones to Community Health Volunteers - an initiative of the NGO D-Tree as part of the “Jamii ni Afya” program, which aims to ensure more efficient care for pregnant women in Zanzibari communities. In this context, a monitoring dashboard was symbolically presented to the Minister of Health, which can be used to track the data of the Community Health Volunteers. Henrik Hülsmann then visited the D-Tree office as part of an international delegation and learned more about the program, which, as part of Zanzibar's national digital health program, aims to achieve universal health coverage with digital tools.
Strengthening cooperation between HNU and MUHAS
In addition, the MUHAS Digital Health and Innovation Week showcased a wide range of innovative projects from NGOs, companies, universities and government initiatives, highlighting Tanzania's leading role in digital health governance and its commitment to knowledge sharing. Henrik Hülsman, workshop partner Shaban Busger and Dr. Felix Sukums, chair of the conference, reaffirmed their intention to strengthen the collaboration between HNU and MUHAS in the future and pursue further joint research projects.
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Henrik Hülsmann
