Information on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is needed to align healthcare transformation efforts. This bibliometric analysis aims to establish the patterns of publication activities on the application of AI in health. A total of 1083 scholarly papers published between 1993 and 2023 were retrieved from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. R Studio and VOSviewer were applied to quantify and illustrate publication patterns and citation rates. Publication rates grew by an average rate of 13% yearly, with each document being cited averagely 12 times. The articles had a mean of five co-authors, with a global co-authorship rate of 10%. COVID-19, artificial intelligence, and machine learning dominated the publications. The US, China, UK, Canada, and India coordinated most of the collaborative research. AI-based health information research is growing steadily. International collaborations can be leveraged to ensure the spread and interoperability of AI-based healthcare innovations globally.

Climate change is among the most significant challenges of the 21st century, with global warming, heat stress, floods, and drought occurring in various parts of the globe, including Africa. The impact of climate change on health is becoming increasingly substantial on the African continent due to weaknesses in economies, infrastructure, and healthcare systems. This review explores the relationship between climate change and emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in Africa and highlights possible solutions. It was conducted by summarizing and synthesizing related information from relevant scientific publications. This review reveals that climate change significantly contributes to Africa’s emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever, dengue fever, malaria, and cholera. The impact of climate change on infectious diseases is variable across the continent, with countries in West and Central Africa experiencing more significant climate change-instigated disease burdens. Multisectoral cooperation between climate change actors, environmental health researchers, policy makers, and political leaders centered in the One Health approach is necessary to develop and implement resilient interventions for climate change-induced emerging and re-emerging infections and related health hazards.

Background: The WHO Regional Office for Africa developed a Member States (MS)-endorsed regional strategy to fast-track the implementation of MS’ national action plans (NAP) on Antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study explored the perspectives of AMR’s national focal points in MS on the implementation of the priority interventions of the regional strategy in their countries. Methods: An online survey consisting of ratings and discussions covering the implementation of the six priority interventions was conducted. Sums of the scores per priority intervention were obtained, and their percentage to the total possible scores were calculated to categorize the implementation as inadequate (0–25%), basic (26–50%), intermediate (51–75%), or advanced (76–100%). Results: Thirty-six of the forty-seven national AMR focal points responded to the survey between 12 November 2023 and 8 January 2024. The implementations were rated as 37–62% (basic-to-intermediate), with the multisectoral coordination and collaboration committee receiving the highest overall rating (62%, 421/684), while the promotion of sustainable investment for the NAP on AMR received the least overall rating (37%, 257/700). The focal points mainly recommended awareness campaigns, capacity building, and regulations and guidelines to improve the implementation of the AMR strategy. Conclusions: The survey revealed a need to enhance awareness campaigns, support the establishment and functioning of AMR evaluation and monitoring systems, and build the capacity of AMR staff with cost-benefit analysis and budgeting skills. It also showed the necessity to improve awareness and conduct education on AMR, streamline evidence generation through One Health Surveillance systems, integrate initiatives to reduce hospital-acquired infections in the antimicrobial stewardship programs, and enhance regulations and guidelines to optimize the use of antimicrobials.

Africa, which bears approximately a quarter of the global disease burden, is struggling with an increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases while still tackling the challenge of infectious diseases [1,2]. Although COVID-19 did not have the anticipated impact on the continent, Africa is still not sufficiently ready to counter both burdens simultaneously. Pharmaceutical manufacturing in Africa […]

Inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) are a global problem that is largely unaddressed, especially in Africa. Black indigenous Africans are rarely represented in research that develops genetic tests and genetic therapies for IRDs, yet their genomes are more diverse. The aim of this literature review is to synthesize information on the IRD genetic research conducted among indigenous black Africans to identify challenges and opportunities for progress. PubMed was searched to identify empirical publications reporting the genetic analysis of IRDs among indigenous Africans. A total of 11 articles were selected for the review. Based on the information in the articles, the main genetic testing methods in use include next-generation, whole exome, and Sanger sequencing. The main IRDs characterized by the genetic tests include retinitis pigmentosa, Leber Congenital Amaurosis, Stagardt disease, and cone dystrophy. Examples of implicated genes include MERTK, GUCY2D, ABCA4, and KCNV2 for the four IRDs, respectively. Research activities on the genetics of IRDs are generally scanty in Africa. Even in South Africa and North Africa where some research activities were noted, only a few indigenous black Africans were included in the study cohorts. There is an urgent need for genetic research on IRDs, especially in East, Central, and West Africa.

Low rates of actively contributing to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) under the Social Health Authority (SHA) could be due to health insurance knowledge inadequacies, possibly because of poor electronic health (eHealth) literacy. This study assesses whether eHealth literacy is associated with SHA/SHIF knowledge among undergraduate healthcare students in Kenya. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) and an adapted Kaiser Family Foundation quiz. A total of 207 students in mainly six health-related academic programs in 21 institutions of higher learning in Kenya responded to the online survey. Only 54% and 21.7% of the participants had high (median ≥ 4 out of 5) levels of eHealth literacy and knowledge of SHA/SHIF, respectively. About 9.2% of the students had never heard of SHA/SHIF. Only high eHealth literacy compared to low eHealth literacy (OR = 6.2, p < 0.0001) and pursuing nursing, public health, and other programs compared to pursuing Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) (OR = 4.9–5.1, p = 0.01–0.03) significantly predicted SHA/SHIF knowledge. Thus, eHealth literacy levels and SHA/SHIF knowledge require improvement among undergraduate healthcare students in Kenya to prepare them as SHA ambassadors in their communities.