Cape Verde to invest in telemedicine and artificial intelligence to modernize health system
The Cape Verdean government will invest in telemedicine with the support of artificial intelligence and robotics, as well as implementing 5G internet and creating an inter-island pre-hospital emergency system. The hiring of Cuban doctors is also planned.
Cape Verde will invest this year in telemedicine supported by artificial intelligence, with the aim of improving diagnoses, enabling remote consultations and treatments, and strengthening the health system on the islands. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva in the city of Praia.
According to the head of government, the project will allow any citizen, on any island, to have access to quality healthcare, even where there are no reference hospitals. "Telemedicine will allow diagnoses and interventions even on islands where these skills are not concentrated. Robotics and artificial intelligence are essential tools for this," he said.
To make this progress possible, the government will implement 5G technology by 2025, which will make it possible to operationalize these digital tools.
Correia e Silva exemplified that it is already possible to carry out collaborative healthcare from the United States with central hospitals in Cape Verde. "With the new technologies, not only can we have specialist doctors with us, but we can also carry out interventions remotely," he said.
Another government investment will be the creation of a pre-hospital emergency system with sea, air and land resources to allow inter-island evacuations, facilitating citizens' access to central and regional hospitals.
In the same vein, a newly acquired aircraft to reinforce the Coast Guard will arrive in the country this Friday. The aircraft will be used for surveillance, search and rescue and medical evacuation operations.
The President of the Portuguese Medical Association, Francisco Barbosa Amado, also defended the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in medicine, highlighting the benefits in more accurate diagnoses, better access to healthcare and the physical well-being of professionals.
In addition, the Minister of Health announced in parliament the hiring of 70 specialist doctors and general practitioners from Cuba, with the support of international cooperation, to reinforce the archipelago's hospital services.
