According to Dr Robert Grant, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Studies at St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, a significant part of being a medical school student is understanding the theoretical knowledge of science, but an equally crucial component is the tangible difference that quality in-hospital training can make on an aspiring physician.

Speaking to Omnia Health Insights, he explains that in-hospital training starts with exposure to the different disciplines. "No one knows what the life of a practising physician in a certain speciality is really like until they get to live it. Personally, I went to medical school because I wanted to be an ophthalmologist. It wasn't until I rotated through other disciplines—and spent some time in ophthalmology and realised I didn't really want to be an ophthalmologist—that I settled in the surgical world, and then ultimately on a career as a reconstructive plastic surgeon."

Related: Women in medicine: Insight for future female physicians

It's also important for students to socialise as a physician to understand the important responsibilities that you're given with the privilege of caring for other human beings. Additionally, every rotation is an audition toward residency training. Every student's work is noticed by their peers, the residents, and the faculty, who want to get the best residents they can into their programme.

"For students to make a good impression during their clinical studies, they should practice three main qualities - they should be available, be affable, and be interested," Dr Grant says. "Particularly nowadays, with the team-based nature of clinical care, they're going to be working with clinical colleagues in other disciplines who are going to be sources of referral for them, and the students would refer to them in the future. You go through life with a cohort of peers who you trained with and got educated with."

Related: Clinical Communication & Collaboration Platforms: Foundational Technology for Smart Hospitals

If a faculty member or a resident is doing some clinical research, students can consider getting involved. Dr Grant explains that contributing to the fund of knowledge is a fantastic way for students to make a good impression.

Dr Grant also reminds us that the administrative staff are essential to the practice of every physician. "When it comes time to evaluating students for residency positions, they get an equal vote. So, make sure that you treat them with the respect that they deserve and have earned."

When it comes to making the most out of their clinical rotations, Dr Grant highlights that every rotation that medical students participate in adds to their perspective. However, to make the best out of each speciality experienced, students should keep an open mind and remain unbiased as much as possible.

"Rotations offer an opportunity for medical students to get practical training by implementing what they've studied theoretically. Therefore, they must familiarise themselves with the illnesses that their patients are suffering from. Read as much as possible to be well-prepared. Equally as important is taking this opportunity to clear as many doubts as possible, so students shouldn't be shy to ask any questions, but at the same time, having an eye for detail and learning from doctors and other interns is also crucial."

Since our Voice of the Healthcare Industry Market Outlook report in December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected every single member of the healthcare community, both personally and professionally – and at every level of the supply chain, from manufacture to bedside care.

Through this year's survey, we asked healthcare respondents worldwide about the technological impact of the events of 2020-21, alongside financial and healthcare delivery impact. 

Digitalisation continues to impact the most 

Digitalisation remains the technological development currently having the greatest impact on the industry across the board and has seen an increase of 5% to 44% since the 2019 survey.

However, this is much less of an issue in Asia (34%) and the GCC (38%) than in Africa (56%) and Europe (58%). Most other areas, including Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and VR/AR, have slightly declined in impact.

When asked about skills in technology, a high proportion of respondents stated that there were people within their organisation trained to adopt and implement digitalisation (73%).

Artificial Intelligence is highly impactful

A third of respondents overall identified AI as one of the technologies having an impact on their business, but only a quarter of manufacturers did so.

It’s also much less of a concern in Africa (25%) than elsewhere. Only half of businesses have personnel trained to implement AI, but this has increased by 11% since 2019.

Big Data comes in next at 24%, but it’s having a much higher impact on consultancies – who are also more impacted by IoT than other areas of tech. Big Data is also having a much lower impact in Asia where 26% of businesses stated that technology does not impact them at all.

Blockchain, IoT and VR/AR are less impactful, despite the buzz

Blockchain, Internet of Things and Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality are having relatively low levels of impact on healthcare, despite being buzzwords of the last few years.

The Americas and Europe are being slightly more impacted by IoT, however, at 18-21%, while the GCC is more impacted by blockchain than any other region at 12%.

Blockchain is also where the biggest tech skills gap lies with only 49% of businesses trained to implement it. Manufacturers are the most prepared for VR/AR and blockchain, with 80-83% of respondents stating that their personnel are trained in these areas.

Respondents from the Americas were by far the least prepared for blockchain implementation at just 8% but prove the most prepared for VR/AR at 80%.

About the report

The Voice of the Healthcare Industry Market Outlook 2021 survey was designed by Informa Markets to understand the impact that the pandemic has had on four key areas of the industry: manufacturers and agents, dealers and distributors; clinics and medical practices; private hospitals and public hospitals; government and health regulators; and charities, non-profits and NGOs.

Through GRS Research & Strategy Middle East we asked 1,600 respondents worldwide about the financial and operational impact of the events brought by the pandemic.

The survey also looked to assess how the industry has responded to the pandemic, and how key players have evolved their business strategy. We also asked participants to reflect on how the future will look, and what key trends they are now anticipating. 

Download the full report for free

Click here to download the Voice of the Healthcare Industry Market Outlook 2021

Africa was impacted by the pandemic in part because of healthcare system constraints, according to Africa Health 2021 speakers, who believe can be addressed by bringing stakeholders together and introducing stronger public policies. 

“We have been terribly exposed [as a continent] in under-investment,” said Dr Ntuthuko Bhengu, founder of South Africa-based digital platform Alchemy Health Technologies, chairing a panel covering Healthcare innovation post-pandemic on the fourth day of Africa Health 2021.

Dr Bhengu remarked that Africa’s governments and authorities were not entirely at fault for the continent’s pandemic shortcomings, however.

“All of us are to blame. While the deadly conspiracy theories did not help, there was also – more significantly -  corruption, which had affected PPE supplies,” he explained. 

Egbe Osifo-Dawodu, founding partner, Anadach Consulting Group, said that it was critical for government ministers to ready the African continent for another pandemic.

“When you have a pandemic it's not a health issue alone,” she said, adding that all of government should be handling it as opposed to a single department alone. Countries handling it best, for example Morocco, approached it strategically. 

Furthermore, Dr Osifo-Dawodu continued, Health Ministers ought to look at all resources available in public, private and NGO sectors and see how they work strategically. 

Going ahead, policy frameworks should encourage innovation, whether tech-related or non, she added, and that this should be supported by education. 

Spencer Horne, founder of logistics startup Cloudline in South Africa, said that technology can be transformative in healthcare, but the extent of this is subject to how this is enabled on the African continent.

The pandemic had revealed fundamental technology constraints in healthcare systems - gaps that may be filled through entrepreneurs. “What we call leapfrogging in Africa,” he said, explaining it as going beyond conventional systems to solve a problem as quickly and as efficiently as possible. An example Horne shared was the mobile “revolution” in Africa and subsequent money mobile revolution. 

According to Jean Pierre Horne, Head of Healthcare, AWS South Africa, resilience and leveraging insights through data, which he described as unprecedented, were lessons learned from Africa’s pandemic experience. The modernisation of technology would furthermore enable data-driven insights to predict healthcare events, and ability to respond to them, through advances in machine learning. 

Health data protection

During a separate panel discussion on Telemedicine opportunities and challenges in Africa: policy and regulatory perspective, Robin Njiru, Business Lead - East-West Africa, at AWS in Kenya, described AWS’ approach of working with local bodies and partners to ensure that that laws around data protection and virtual consultations protect patients and practitioners alike. 

AWS has found governments and ministries of health receptive to a collaborative approach to ensure that regulation does not stifle innovation, he added. 

Commenting on health data theft, Dr Olajide Adebola, Chief Technology Officer / Partner at Nigeria-based telemedicine/ehealth business Home Plus Medicare Services, said that the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (2019) while “a step in the right direction” was not sufficiently detailed as regards the delivery of health services, describing that it did not require for instance how long data storage should be held. 

Security and health infrastructure was important, he stressed, and he called for health data policies in Nigeria addressing data protection, quality, and integrity. 

“It starts with ethics talking about the rights of the patients, and doing good without harm,” he elaborated further. Most of the digital health tools deployed in Nigeria are furthermore “foreign”. He urged an avoidance of data “colonisation” and theft through having each territory look at its own health data.

“Data security is job zero,” said Njiru in agreement, referring to a phrase commonly used at AWS, meaning that all its solutions are designed with security in mind. Storing and processing health data in the cloud makes it safer than the alternative, he continued, adding that AWS ensures that the customer experience is “ethical”.

Dr Raphael Akangbe, Assistant Director and Data Protection Officer at Lagos State Ministry of Health, commented on laws that “intersect” despite that no specific laws regulating telemedicine activities in Nigeria exist. Lagos State Ministry of Health furthermore leads in compliance with national data protection regulations in Nigeria and is also presently working on a project addressing how digital health will be effective.

AWS-enabled smart health solutions can help lower the cost of providing quality healthcare services to citizens, said Jean Pierre Horne, Head of Healthcare AWS in South Africa, in his talk Transforming public healthcare in the cloud on day four of Africa Health 2021. This is achieved by leveraging data that provides insights to providers and patients, and predicting healthcare events before they occur

Some of the challenges that Africa faces has to do with the lack of capacity for adopting technology, the tech executive explained.

AWS is “working within the guidelines, in accordance with international bodies like the WHO…and aligning with the African Union,” he said.

“We strive to enable the access and delivery of patient centered healthcare, driving improving outcomes at a low cost by accelerating the digitisation and utilisation of healthcare and life sciences data,” he added.

Horne said that AWS has accelerated innovation with the broadest and deepest portfolio of cloud-based services, including purpose built health specific solutions. He stressed that the cloud can reduce costs by building cost saving techniques.

“Improving business agility by deploying new features faster and reducing errors is something very important for our healthcare services customers,” he explained.

According to Horne, AWS has seen governments worldwide continue to improve healthcare for citizens as they use the cloud to advance clinical care. Medical centres use it for data analytics and data sharing capability. 

“National health systems around the world who handle sensitive workloads use AWS services,” he indicated.

Horne introduced AWS for Health as a comprehensive, purpose built health platform that provides 16 critical solutions in healthcare, biopharma and genomics, that aims to help health organisations improve their innovation capabilities.

Digital front door

“To ensure we can personalise our customers' digital journey we do so through a process called digital front door,” the AWS executive continued.  

Digital front door principles bring the full cycle consumer experience to healthcare. “Patients' experiences are customers [experience],” he explained. 

“A patient should have a seamless experience throughout discovery registration, in video, discharge and follow up,” Horne added. Whether a telemedicine application or virtual consultation, it can be managed across physical and digital platforms. “This is why we provide omnichannel engagement customised for each patient.” 

AWS for Health furthermore helps organisations to transform data seamlessly, identify trends and make predictions, and support interoperability, he concluded. 

The African Union must come closer to leading the continent towards a better future by ensuring technology transfer from abroad and building capabilities within member states, urged speakers at Africa Health 2021 during the session Vaccination challenges and opportunities during and post-pandemic on day four of the event. 

To date, 15 countries across Africa have vaccinated just 10 percent of their population, owing to challenges including “conflict zones” complicating delivery.

However, speakers also voiced concerns over vaccine nationalism and global pharmaceutical “profiting”. 

“While the world is looking for boosters, less than 3.1 percent have actually received their first dose, and many in Africa are actually yet to receive even those - so we have to ask ourselves if there is vaccine equity,” said Dr Pamela Jackson-Ajayi, President and founder of Healthcare Federation of Nigeria.

“We have to ask how we can ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are distributed fairly,” she emphasised. 

Dr Ajayi said that the continent needed to look at how to produce their own vaccines. 

Dr Geofrey Makenga, vaccinologist and epidemiologist from the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania, agreed, saying that with most vaccines arriving in Africa 10 to 20 years later (“the current pandemic just highlighted the existing gap”), the only way to close the gap was for Africa to manufacture its own.

Africa’s governments – the most important stakeholder in his view - must demonstrate the political will to enable this, he continued, while bankers and businesses may also play their part in investing in vaccine creation. 

Dr Ahmed Ogwell, Deputy Director African Center for Disease Control, based in Kenya, stated that “it’s difficult to look at the world as one” while adding that Africa needed to do “things in a big and bold way”. 

Dr Bartholomew Akanmori, Lead - Vaccine Research, Regulation, and Safety, African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF), meanwhile said that it was not enough to provide vaccines into countries – they had to get into people. 

African countries will not meet the vaccination targets set out this year, he said, describing the continent’s infrastructure as “poor”, and health systems as “fragile”. People are also afraid to take the vaccine, and so there is also vaccine hesitancy. 

Dr Akanmori called for a strong regulatory system and regulatory alignment, while a feasibility study should cover every aspect of vaccine and product manufacturing.  “You need strong political commitment,” he recommended. “Then you need to change the environment, and provide incentives, and then relax laws to enable them.”

Dr Ajayi highlighted the issue of incentivising how patents on vaccines are developed, describing access to essential vaccines as a human right. 

“The patents system disproportionately benefits patent holders in developed countries,” she said. “There is a need for us to really work together and ensure that we need to engage them.” 

Patent countries have argued that the cost of R&D adds to the factor of why the patent is kept, she continued, suggesting that sanctions should be considered against those not sharing the technology, since otherwise “nations and continents of ours are at risk”.

In an Africa Health 2021 interview with Omnia Health Insights, Dr. Alex Coutinho, former Executive Director for Partners in Health in Rwanda, revealed how Africa has tackled infectious diseases threats during the pandemic, and what the future holds for the continent.

What have been the biggest successes and challenges from your perspective in Africa’s handling of the pandemic? How can African countries learn from these going forward?

In comparison to other continents, such as the United States, Europe and South America, Africa has been spared from relatively worse COVID-19 related infections and deaths.

This is partly due to the WHO and Africa CDC mobilising many African countries. COVID-19 has been prioritised on the political agenda, enforcing early prevention measures such as lockdowns and masking mandates.

Social media and other communication technologies have been leveraged to spread information. However, that's also led to misinformation. Nevertheless, it's also been very successful in mobilising people.

Challenges were experienced in the following areas: the availability of good healthcare infrastructure in regions with rising cases, the arrival of the Delta variant, and vaccination.

The target of vaccinating at least half of Africa by the end of the year is not going to be met. Some countries are still at 1 percent. Vaccine doses are unavailable and there is a lack of funding to purchase what is available, while some vaccines require technological means to be transported, received, and distributed.

In Africa, inter-country learning and good leadership, particularly from Africa CDC in mobilising vaccines, have been fostered. We have watched and learned from countries such as the US, Brazil, India, and the United Arab Emirates, which has almost 80 percent of its population vaccinated, resume normalcy.

We have also witnessed countries like Vietnam and Thailand, which initially did not have a serious epidemic, encounter huge epidemics.

Africa has benefited, in a sense, by learning from other countries. This needs to be encouraged as the big challenge remains in understanding how do we continue to generate demand for vaccines?

And by doing so, how do we continue to sustain prevention against COVID-19 through precautionary measures? COVID-19 has consumed the health systems of many African countries, derailing and worsening treatment of other health conditions. How do countries juggle COVID-19 with HIV, TB, Malaria, and maternal-child health?

How effective have official communications been across the continent, in areas such as mask-wearing and social distancing for example?

From a Ugandan perspective, three initiatives have been very effective. Schools have been closed and religious gatherings have been banned, as these are key areas where large populations gather. The third has been mandating a curfew to limit population movement at night.

These are strictly enforced, impacting social distancing which has been reduced. Mask-wearing varies, depending on the policy of the region. One of the biggest advantages for Uganda and Africa, excluding South Africa in winter, and this is my hypothesis, is that a lot of our daily activities are outdoors.

This is perhaps a benefit of not being a society that is trapped in large office buildings. The economy is driven by informal activities. People spend most of their time outdoors, returning home late at night to rest.

The risk of contracting COVID-19 is far less outdoors due to natural ventilation. Therefore we can potentially move other activities outdoors.

 

Millions of people in Africa have grown up with malaria. How will the vaccine breakthrough be life-changing, and how will accessibility be possible?

The malaria vaccine can be life-changing for those it protects. However like any other vaccine, it is not perfect, having 30 percent efficacy. It is a breakthrough; however, as it marks the beginning of striving to eradicate and eliminate malaria.

This is the very first vaccine against a parasitic disease and was five decades in the making. We still have a long way to go. The first steps are to manufacture this vaccine and make it affordable.

The deadliest parasite causing malaria is Plasmodium falciparum, prevalent in Africa. It is crucial to communicate the reason behind it being an African vaccine primarily.

According to the WHO, the African Region continues to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2019, the region was home to 94 percent of all malaria cases and deaths.

Prescribed for children, it is key to communicate to parents that the vaccine does not guarantee 100 percent immunity. It is crucial to implement preventative methods such as using bed nets.  

However, I want to emphasise its success, being the first in a series of successes. Vaccines that are 95 percent efficacious, go through a long process to attain that high efficacy.

The pandemic caused disruption to child and maternal health services across Africa - how can this be prevented in the future? 

When you have lockdowns, the population is suspicious of healthcare facilities, because they think if they go there, they might get COVID-19. 

Maternal child health services have been provided mainly by the public sector. There haven't been many provisions for the general population by the private sector.

The private sector needs to work with the government to subsidise services. We need to look at new models, which break away from public facilities. In Uganda, pharmacies are emerging as major providers of services for urban populations.

Between 40- 50 percent of Africa is urbanised, therefore there is a need to rethink how we can better provide these services.

Pre COVID-19, facilities, and services available for Maternal and Child health were insufficient, and when faced by a pandemic, the resources become more deficient.  

We need to look at empowering community healthcare workers. Philips has a pilot in Kenya, where they provide community healthcare workers with a series of tools.

They can conduct ultrasounds on pregnant women in their homes and transfer the data to a specialist for analysis, followed by delivering the results to the patient. COVID has compelled us to innovate; however, change needs to be supported by national governments, ministries of health, and policymakers.

Untreated mental health can have harrowing implications that can also compromise socioeconomic prosperity in nations.

Across Africa, there is insufficient government support in mandating policies towards driving change: according to the World Economic Forum, most African governments allocate less than 1 percent of their budgets to mental health services. An estimated 100 million people in Africa furthermore suffer from clinical depression, including 66 million women.

In an Africa Health 2021 interview with Omnia Health Insights, Shekhar Saxena, Professor of the Practice of Global Mental Health at the Department of Global Health and Population at the Havard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, revealed why mental health and psychosocial support needs to be an urgent priority for Africa.

What is mental health and why it is important for Africa?

It is crucial to distinguish between mental health and mental diseases. For patients who are suffering from mental diseases, they require treatment and support, however, mental health is important for everyone.

Throughout our lives, we may experience shifts in our mental health and well-being, varying from good periods and challenging ones. When addressing mental health in Africa, contributing factors such as infectious and nutrient-related diseases are significant.

It is also vital to recognise that mental health issues, if not diagnosed or treated, can be a cause of physical and mental disease and disability, which is frequent in Africa.

What is the current state of recognising and supporting mental and psychosocial health in Africa?

There is nominal allocation of budgets when it comes to mental health. This is universal neglect, even in high resource countries. For Africa, the burden of mental health problems is severe, with a large gap between what is needed and what is being done financially.

There is also a lack of psychologists and psychiatrists; hence we need to pay more attention to mental health as a policy, and invest.

Why does Africa need to invest in mental health as an urgent priority? How can these investments unlock social and economic development potential and fulfill sustainable development goals in Africa?

Mental health needs to be integrated into the healthcare system, as it is a significant part of development. The hypothesis is that mental health can cause economic loss, which is sometimes direct when patients have a disability and require treatment and care.

Very often, it can also be indirect, when individuals suffering from mental health issues are unable to work and therefore can not contribute to the economy. In many instances, family members and guardians undertake care of those suffering from acute mental illness.

This is a tremendous economic loss. In fact, a study that I was part of clearly demonstrated that for anxiety and depression, the return on investment is five dollars for each dollar invested.

This is not only eye-opening for Ministries of Health, but also Finance. Countries in Africa need to consider these factors when they decide on investments. It is very important to invest in necessities such as infrastructure, and roads, and bridges, but investment in health and education have long-standing outcomes.

Mental health is not only a key part of healthcare but also of education and labour. If ignored, the economic development of the countries in Africa will be compromised. The message is clear for policymakers: invest in mental health and get good returns.

 

What challenges and factors are being faced presently regarding mental health in Africa? How large is the treatment gap?

Often, patients living with mental disorders, diseases, and disabilities do not receive appropriate treatment or any treatment at all. They are not diagnosed or misdiagnosed, and this is largely due to a lack of trained mental health specialists.

Therefore, the gap for the treatment of mental health disorders can be as large as 90 percent. This means nine people out of 10 are not identified and not treated.

This is a major setback, the solution is not only to populate healthcare facilities with psychiatrists and psychologists, but also train all doctors, nurses, and all healthcare providers, including community health workers in the identification of common mental disorders.

70 percent of mental health problems, including disorders can be treated by trained doctors and nurses with adequate supervision and support. This will develop a mental health care system, integrated within the health system, in unison with commitments made by countries as a part of the universal health coverage.

Through this, the treatment gap will be markedly reduced and people will get the treatment that they need.

Are there some examples of effective and affordable delivery of mental health in Africa?

In the last 10 years, there has been gradual progress in countries such as South Africa and Ethiopia. Doctors and nurses have been trained in identifying and treating common mental disorders using some of the WHO resources in the public domain.

One of them is called MhGAP Intervention Guide, which has been translated into many languages.

In fact, Ethiopia trained hundreds of nurses who are providing vital care for people who check into facilities. Other initiatives such as ‘the friendship bench’ in Zimbabwe, are starting to train people, generally, women belonging to the middle or older age group. They provide counsel and care for other women who required help.

The effectiveness of this model has been tested in very well-designed studies and replicated in many other African countries, and globally in cities such as New York.

What have the policy responses been to mental health recovery during and post-pandemic and as part of a national recovery plan?

The pandemic highlighted the necessity of mental health support; however, several lost their lives to the disease while many continue to face stress which can develop into anxiety and depressive disorders.

Africa was not largely affected by COVID-19, compared to other continents, but its mental health care system was already poor and now the needs have increased. Travel bans, work on infrastructure for schools were stalled, hindering economic growth.

The World Bank has suggested a very large number of people, including in Africa, are going back into extreme poverty. UNICEF has stated that schools physically closing down and taking a digital route has affected millions of children in Africa.

These factors are going to have a tremendous impact on the mental health and development of children. The implications will affect a whole generation.

Due to COVID, many doctors and nurses who provided mental health care were placed in COVID care. Fortunately, other models of care, including telepsychiatry and tele-mental health are making positive progress.

Countries need to step up their efforts for mental health. We also must be realistic because many countries are investing in COVID care and vaccinations.

The possibility to fund some of the mental health programs has decreased as opposed to the increasing needs. The solution lies in integrating mental health within the overall healthcare system, as it is more economic than creating a separate system.

Dr Agnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor, University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Kigali, said during her talk on the third day of Africa Health 2021 that gender equity should be on the agenda for humanity.

“It's a call for all people of good soul and good will to continue to fight for gender equity. It's bigger than fighting for gender equality; sometimes it's not even 50/50, sometimes it's 60 for girls because they start so far,” she said during a session on how COVID-19 has affected women, Women at the front lines - key to healthcare sector recovery & tackling social disparities.

A Rwandan paediatrician, Dr Binagwaho described returning to her home country two years after the 1994 genocide. 

“When I went back, I was shocked - the healthcare sector was destroyed in the genocide. The morale of the people was down,” she said.

She began providing clinical care in the Rwandan public sector, also co-founding the UGHE, an initiative of non-profit healthcare organisation Partners In Health.

UGHE focuses on changing how healthcare is delivered by training global health professionals to deliver more equitable quality health services for all. 

“When I was a child, I was allowed to be curious, and this cultivated my interest in learning more,” she said, commenting on how she was able to reach her current position as a woman.

Widening inequities under COVID-19

During her talk, Dr Binagwaho said that COVID-19 had exacerbated existing inequities among the population.

She said that there were inequities in access to education, leadership, and employment, all linked to cultural perspectives still viewing women as secondary players in society.

“In Africa we only have 28 percent of doctors that are women,” she said, revealing also that nurses were mostly women. 

“Women have been more exposed to Covid than men. And we know now that Africa was less served for PPE. We have all this inequality in access to tools to protect our workers,” she added.

“With fewer tools to protect our health workers, and more women in the frontline, of course our women suffered more than men,” she explained further.

Empowering women

Dr Binagwaho highlighted several initiatives across Africa to compensate and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on women, especially in matters relating to violence against women.

Examples included South Africa courts prioritising cases of women violence; in Kenya, women were better supported with cash within the economic scheme; and in Nigeria, an innovation scheme was launched to create jobs for women and youth.

Dr Binagwaho emphasised that female empowerment should not be exclusive to COVID-19. “It's something we could have done before Covid and during Covid, and should do after Covid,” she affirmed. 

She unveiled how this is addressed by UGHE.   

“We systemically recruit 70 percent of females. We go for equity. We take 70 percent as a call for action,” she said, elaborating further that not all the 70 percent will graduate from the university. In fact, most will not, and that is due to cultural norms. 

Through the university, the girls will receive advice through a mentorship programme.

“We need to monitor girls and make available a good environment, because they have fewer advantages than boys. We go and visit their homes and explain that they need to study ‘this’ number of hours if they wish to succeed,” she said. “So we monitor them. Girls need more mentoring.”