Africa’s quest for health continues to face challenges from a combination of factors such as natural disasters and pandemics, prevailing high rates of communicable and rising incidence of non-communicable diseases, sedentary lifestyles, road accidents, and greater population mobility. With the region accounting for approximately a quarter of the world’s disease burden and just three percent of its doctors, business as usual won’t work to achieve the future we need.

To achieve UHC, more resources will not only have to be mobilized for the health sector, but new partnerships must also be forged, such as the one between United Nations, the Government of Kenya, and technology company Philips to improve access to health care in hard to reach communities. New models of blended financing and impact investing need to take up the slack to address the scarce resources, which must also be used more efficiently and effectively.

Innovation Tech could be a game-changer in diagnostics, health information, supply chain management, health financing, and even remote tele-surgery performed by robotic arms.

Few frontiers provide greater potential for African countries to achieve UHC than information technology. “Just as mobile payments have transformed Kenyan markets, I think innovations in the health sector – from machine learning algorithms that help diagnose disorders to digitized prescriptions that make drugs more affordable."says Dr. Temina Madon, Executive Director for the Center for Effective Global Action at U.C. Berkeley.

Increasing penetration and the scaling of private, public-private, and community insurance schemes could transform access to better health care, especially if the right insurance mechanisms, including forms of micro-insurance, are put in place. Digital solutions such as Kenya’s M-Tiba could play an important role in the realization of UHC.

Read the full article about united heath care for Africa by  Siddharth Chatterjee and Radhika Shah at United Nations Foundation.