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December 20245 min readMamaOpe Medicals Team

Addressing Healthcare Worker Shortage in Africa

With Africa facing a projected shortfall of 6.1 million health workers by 2030, our HealthNavi CDSS supports frontline healthcare workers with real-time decision support.

Addressing Healthcare Worker Shortage in Africa

A recent WHO report highlights the persistent challenge of healthcare staff shortages across 47 African nations, with the situation worsening significantly.

The Crisis

By 2030, Africa is expected to face a shortfall of 6.1 million health workers, up 45% from 2013 estimates. Key drivers of this crisis include:

  • Limited training capacity
  • Rapid population growth
  • Emigration of health professionals
  • Inadequate healthcare infrastructure

Current Statistics

Currently, the region has an average of 1.55 health workers (doctors, nurses, midwives) per 1,000 people. As of 2018, there were roughly 3.6 million health workers in the surveyed countries:

37%

Nurses and midwives

9%

Doctors

10%

Lab personnel

14%

Community health workers

Our Solution

At MamaOpe Medicals, with the support of the Science for Africa Foundation, we've spent the past year building HealthNavi, an AI healthtech solution designed to support frontline healthcare workers.

HealthNavi is a Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) that delivers real-time decision support, offers differential diagnosis and treatment suggestions, streamlines workflows, prioritizes diagnostic steps, and flags urgent conditions.

Impact

By supporting healthcare workers with AI-powered tools, we can help them focus on what matters most: delivering quality care efficiently, even under pressure. This approach helps maximize the impact of the limited healthcare workforce available and ensures that every healthcare worker can provide the best possible care to their patients.