Building biomedical engineering innovation capacity for improved health outcomes in Africa: summary
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2019Author(s)/Corporate Author (s)
United Nations. Economic Commission for Africa;Metadata
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The present policy brief examines a possible mechanism for building capacity in Africa, using biomedical engineering as an example. One common but recurring problem with most health facilities in Africa is the inadequacy and, in some cases, lack of basic medical devices that health-care professionals need to do their job well. Most countries on the continent do not have a medical devices industry and rely on imports to meet demand. They also rely on foreign expertise to install, upgrade and service most of the imported devices. Countries have tried to address the skills gap in the medical devices sector in various ways. For the most part, they have relied on training technicians and technologists. However, higher and more specialized skills than those of technicians are needed to upgrade, design and produce robust devices suitable for Africa’s operating environment (i.e., unstable electricity, dust and heat), given the increasing automation, complexity and digitization of medical devices.
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“United Nations. Economic Commission for Africa (2019). Building biomedical engineering innovation capacity for improved health outcomes in Africa: summary. Addis Ababa. © UN. ECA. https://hdl.handle.net/10855/43041”Collections
- Social Development [6610]