August 31, 2026
The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has launched Ghana's first International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Pharma (ICAIH) on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 bringing together policymakers, healthcare professionals, researchers, technology innovators and pharmaceutical industry leaders to explore practical ways of accelerating AI adoption in the country's health sector.
The three-day conference, taking place at the UHAS main campus at Sokode-Lokoe, Ho, is themed "Accelerating Adoption of Healthcare AI in Ghana: From Vision and Policy to Practice and Impact." It is being organised by the UHAS Institute of Health Research (IHR) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, the University of Missouri (USA), the World Health Organization and other international and local partners.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Director of UHAS-IHR and conference convener, Prof. (Med) Alexander Ansah Manu, said the event was intended to create a shared understanding of artificial intelligence and develop practical pathways for its implementation in healthcare delivery. Discussions will focus on AI applications in maternal and child health, clinical trials, vaccine and drug production, National Health Insurance Scheme financing and health-sector leadership. The conference also features an innovation showcase highlighting locally developed AI solutions.
The vice chancellor of UHAS, Prof. Lydia Aziato, described the conference as a major step toward integrating emerging technologies such as telemedicine, machine learning and robotics into healthcare education and service delivery. She called for the establishment of an AI Centre of Excellence, broader AI education across academic disciplines and the incorporation of AI into the University's planned Medical Centre. She stressed that AI deployment must remain ethical, with strong safeguards for privacy and data security, while preserving the human compassion central to healthcare.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. George Agyekum Donkor, President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), urged West African countries to embrace AI as a tool for strengthening healthcare systems amid growing disease burdens and workforce shortages. He highlighted global and African examples of successful AI integration, including AI-assisted cancer screening technologies, Ghana's Zipline drone delivery network and AI-driven healthcare innovations such as mPharma.
Dr. Donkor called for closer regional collaboration through interoperable electronic health records, harmonised data governance frameworks and regional AI centres of excellence. He argued that the rapidly expanding global digital health market presents West Africa with an opportunity to become a producer, rather than merely a consumer, of health technologies.
Dr. Donkor officially declared the conference open, with technical sessions and stakeholder consultations continuing through August 6.
The conference attracted university leaders, government officials, development partners, AI specialists, health professionals, students and representatives of second-cycle institutions across the Volta Region.
As discussions continue, participants hope the conference will help position Ghana and the wider ECOWAS region at the forefront of responsible AI innovation in healthcare, with UHAS emerging as a key hub for research, training and implementation.
