The design of empathetic healthcare ecosystems – A fundamental survival imperative for developing countries.

The African continent is characterised by a history of colonisation and dispossession, civil war, political unrest, perceptions of immature Governance and volatile economies, that are also characterised by disproportionately economic inequalities in social strata. Healthcare and Education systems, that should be the backbone of emerging economies, are failing to adequately respond to citizen needs across the continent. The focus of this presentation will be on the Healthcare systems. There is a pronounced need to gain a profound understanding of the systemic problems that underlie the deepening of the crisis in the Healthcare sector across the continent. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to find innovative, efficient and sustainable solutions to this problem that appears to threaten the existence of the people of Africa. In this talk, we explore ways in which technology can become an enabler in building a healthcare system in Africa that is in tune with the unique requirements, context and needs of Africa and its people. It is suggested here that a Scientific approach that is rooted within the Design Thinking Innovation framework and Systems Thinking is a possible method through which we can begin to discover the nature of the problems, and design the tools needed to provide an increased ability to sense, detect and respond to citizen needs as they occur.