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. 2021 Mar 7:38:240.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2021.38.240.27948. eCollection 2021.

Digital health and COVID-19: challenges of use and implementation in sub-Saharan Africa

Yidnekachew Girma Mogessie  1 , Blaise Ntacyabukura  2 , Dawit Tesfagiorgis Mengesha  1 , Mohamed Babiker Musa  3 , Marie-Claire Wangari  4 , Nsabimana Claude  5 , Nit Buntongyi  6 , Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno  7   8
Affiliations

Digital health and COVID-19: challenges of use and implementation in sub-Saharan Africa

Yidnekachew Girma Mogessie et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

COVID-19 is a global health emergency that exposed the gaps in health systems globally, especially in sub-Saharan Africa home to many fragile healthcare systems and a region beset with a large burden of disease. Various mitigation strategies have been put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 and management of patients in sub-Saharan Africa. However, much still need to be done. Digital health provides the promise for the continent to bridge the gap in decreasing the negative impact of COVID-19 and effectively mitigate the pandemic. This commentary argues how countries in sub-Saharan Africa need to embrace the use of digital health in public health interventions to vigorously mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and to contribute towards attaining universal health coverage (UHC).

Keywords: COVID-19; Digital health; sub-Saharan Africa.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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