STRATEGIC Project Dissemination, Ghana Health Service Forum 2025

Strengthening Ethical Oversight for Digital Health in Africa

At the Ghana Health Service Annual Research Dissemination Forum, held between 12 and 14 August 2025, Mr. Emmanuel Adusei presented preliminary findings from the STRATEGIC Project, which focuses on improving ethical, legal, and regulatory frameworks for Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) across Sub-Saharan Africa. The presentation revealed that while digital tools like mobile health apps, wearable devices, and AI are transforming healthcare, most countries in the region still lack adequate policies and ethical guidelines to govern their use in research and practice.

Key insights highlighted limited institutional capacity, weak community engagement, and low technical expertise among ethics committees and regulatory authorities. To address these challenges, STRATEGIC calls for:

1. 1. Clear national and institutional guidelines for digital health research; 

   2. Integration of DHT issues into ethics review procedures and SOPs; 

   3. Joint training and mentorship for National Ethics Committees (NECs) and National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs); 

   4. More inclusive and culturally sensitive engagement with communities.

The STRATEGIC Project aims to foster trust, accountability, and sustainable innovation by ensuring digital health technologies in Africa are developed and implemented ethically and responsibly. The Project also highlights a critical need for structured ethical and regulatory frameworks tailored to digital health in Sub-Saharan Africa.