IBM has launched a 10-year initiative to bring Watson and other cognitive systems to Africa in a bid to fuel development and spur business opportunities across the world’s fastest growing continent. Dubbed “Project Lucy” after the earliest known human ancestor, IBM will invest US$100 million in the initiative, giving scientists and partners access to the world’s most advanced cognitive computing technologies.
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Royal Philips (AEX: PHIA, NYSE: PHG) (http://www.philips.com) has opened its first Community Life Centre in Kenya, an integrated solution for primary health care and service facilities that provides community development from a health care, lighting and healthy living perspective. Developed by the Philips Africa Innovation Hub (http://goo.gl/2bnujk) and introduced in collaboration with the County Government of Kiambu in Kenya, the Community Life Centre (located at the Githurai Lang’ata Health Centre in Kiambu County) is a proof of concept that provides access to health care and at the same time enables social, educational and commercial activities after dusk and enhances safety and security of the neighbourhood.Continue reading→

Airtel, Nigeria, has made a bold and innovative move to reduce infant and maternal mortality rate in the country. It partnered Grameen Foundation and VAS2nets Technologies Limited to unveil novel mobile health services: Mobile Midwife and Dial-a-Doctor.Mobile Midwife is a tailored mobile service designed to provide vital healthcare and nutrition information.
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The Healthcare Innovation Summit, being held at the Protea Fire & Ice Hotel in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg on 19 August, has announced that E-Health News and Frost & Sullivan are its media partners.
At the summit, delegates will have the opportunity to take part in in-depth round table discussions, which will cover technological issues that affect the development of healthcare in Africa, as well as hear from a number of top-flight local and international speakers addressing the theme, ‘Transforming Healthcare with Technology’.

The conference costs are R4,950 with group discounts. Registration fee includes entry into all round table sessions, networking sessions, all conference documents, delegate bags, corporate gifts and USB sticks, light lunch and refreshments. To book, contact Vardis Banga or Bino de Gouveia on +27 (0)11 026 0981 or email

Source:http://www.bizcommunity.com/

Intercare, a provider of integrated healthcare services, has opened its new R70m medical centre and day hospital in Century City, Cape Town.
This will be the group’s fourth day hospital and its 16th medical centre since Intercare was founded in 2000 by Dr Hendrik Hanekom and Dr George Veliotes and this will complement the existing three sub-acute and rehabilitation hospitals. The Intercare Group has had a very clear vision since inception: to provide quality private healthcare that would be more affordable and accessible to a greater proportion of South Africans.
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The terms ‘electronic data’ and ‘IT’ are not generally associated with Africa’s struggling and under-resourced public healthcare systems, where challenges abound and are exacerbated by paper records, manual processes, labour-intensive administration and poor quality data. In Rwanda, however, the republic’s Ministry of Health has improved the delivery of critical medical supplies throughout the country by implementing an innovative electronic logistics management information system.
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BLOEMFONTEIN: A dismal picture of the Free State’s public health system emerged on Tuesday, 7 July 2015, where a public commission of inquiry is being held, with some saying public health had reached “crisis point”.
On what was the first day of testimonies, anecdotes were heard of a shortage of equipment, medicine and broken ambulances.
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PRETORIA: The new council for the North West College of Nursing is expected to take the nursing profession back to its former glory, says provincial Health MEC Magome Masike.Continue reading→

One of the greatest challenges to our healthcare system today is creating effective new drugs. Despite ever-increasing investments in research and development, the number of drugs that win approval for clinical use each year has steadily decreased over the past 50 years. It now costs of more than $2.5bn (£1.6bn) to bring a single compound from the bench to patients. Because many have to be developed to find one that works, drug costs have become exorbitant.Continue reading→

PRETORIA: South Africa continues to value its relationship with the United States, Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said on Thursday.
“South Africa greatly values our relationship with the US. Our partnership both domestically and regionally continues to yield benefits for our people in the areas of trade and investment, capacity building, health and education, youth and gender empowerment and the promotion of democracy and good governance in the African continent,” said the minister.
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