Artificial Intelligence in healthcare is often celebrated as the future of medicine, promising faster diagnoses, improved patient outcomes, and more efficient systems. Yet in Ghana, experts are warning that poor data systems and weak regulation could derail this promise. At the Africa Digital Dialogue, held under the theme “AI in Healthcare: Ghana’s Readiness”, industry leaders raised urgent concerns about the country’s preparedness to integrate AI into its health sector.
Emmanuella K. Tordman, Chief Executive Officer of DRDOGOOD, explained that the way health data is currently collected across Ghana is fragmented and inconsistent. This fragmentation means that even when data is available, it cannot be easily consolidated into actionable insights that could guide national health policy or AI-driven decision-making.
“ How our data is collected is in silos. Everything is fragmented. Every clinic has a way that they’re collecting the data. Now, if you’re able to get the data, because of how it’s collected, it makes it difficult to collate and analyze according to one specific standard ”
The implications of this are profound. AI systems thrive on large, clean, and standardized datasets. Without them, algorithms cannot be trained effectively, and predictive models risk being inaccurate or biased. In healthcare, this could mean misdiagnoses, poor resource allocation, and widening inequalities in access to treatment.
Dominic Kwabena A., an expert in strategic health information systems, warned that failing to use AI effectively could worsen existing gaps. He cautioned, “If we are unable to use AI to improve health outcomes from both the community level to the national level, what is going to happen is that we might actually broaden the gap when it comes to health services.”
This warning is particularly relevant in Ghana, where healthcare infrastructure already faces challenges such as limited hospital beds, shortages of medical staff, and uneven distribution of resources between urban and rural areas. AI could help bridge these gaps by predicting patient surges, optimizing supply chains, and supporting telemedicine. But without reliable data and strong regulation, the technology could instead deepen disparities.
Regulation is another critical issue. As Tordman emphasized, “AI keeps evolving, so these regulations need to evolve with the technology. We do not have to build alone; in building, we have to involve policymakers as well so that it moves together with a policy framework guiding it. That way, you’re protecting the consumer too.” Her statement highlights the need for a dynamic regulatory environment that adapts to technological change. Static laws or outdated frameworks will not be sufficient to govern AI applications that evolve rapidly and often unpredictably.
Globally, countries that have successfully integrated AI into healthcare—such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore—have invested heavily in both data infrastructure and regulatory oversight. They have established standards for data collection, inter–operability, and patient privacy, while also creating ethical guidelines for AI use. Ghana can learn from these examples, but it must tailor solutions to its own context. For instance, rural clinics may need mobile-based data collection systems, while urban hospitals could adopt advanced electronic health records.
Another pressing question raised during the dialogue was whether the data collected in Ghana even reaches policymakers. Mr. Kwabena asked, “Does the data even reach the policy table? Is it informing decisions? The point is to break down data into actionable insights that improve standards of care.” This points to a disconnect between front–line health workers who gather information and the decision-makers who allocate resources. Bridging this gap will require not only better systems but also cultural change within institutions to value data-driven decision-making.
The Africa Digital Festival Dialogue Series, where these concerns were voiced, is an annual event celebrating innovation and digital transformation across the continent. By focusing on AI in healthcare, the festival highlighted both the opportunities and risks of adopting advanced technologies in environments where infrastructure is still developing. For Ghana, the message was clear: AI can transform healthcare delivery, but only if the foundations—data and regulation—are strong.
From an SEO perspective, the most searched terms in this space include “AI in healthcare,” “health data systems,” “digital health Ghana,” “AI regulation,” “Africa digital transformation,” and “healthcare innovation.”
These keywords reflect global interest in how artificial intelligence is reshaping medicine and how countries like Ghana are preparing for this shift. By aligning with these search trends, the conversation around Ghana’s readiness becomes part of a larger global dialogue about the future of healthcare.
Ultimately, the integration of AI into Ghana’s health sector is not just a technological challenge but a governance one. It requires policymakers, healthcare providers, and technologists to work together to build systems that are reliable, transparent, and equitable.
Without this collaboration, AI risks becoming another layer of complexity in a system already struggling with inefficiencies. But with the right investments in data infrastructure and adaptive regulation, Ghana has the chance to leapfrog traditional barriers and deliver healthcare that is smarter, faster, and fairer.
The urgency of this moment cannot be overstated. As Tordman and Kwabena both made clear, the future of healthcare in Ghana depends on whether the country can transform fragmented data into actionable insights and whether policymakers are willing to create frameworks that protect patients while enabling innovation. AI is not a magic solution—it is a tool. And like any tool, its effectiveness depends on the strength of the hands that wield it.
