Partnership aims to make Rwanda digital health leader

A 10-year partnership has been agreed between Babylon’s service in Rwanda and the Rwandan government to build Africa’s first universal primary care service using a digital-first approach.

The partnership between Babyl and the government will allow almost every person in the country to have a consultation over their mobile phone through its national health service. It will also allow medical staff to be aided by the AI-powered triage and symptom checker platform.

Users will be able to receive prescriptions, lab requests and referrals. The digital-first approach aims to create Africa’s first universal primary care service.

Dr Daniel Ngamije, minister of health in Rwanda, said: “We are delighted to have this partnership with Babyl who will work alongside all our health institutions and RSSB to deliver this innovative digital healthcare service. Increasing access to our doctors will help stop self-diagnosis and self-medication which lead to longer-term complications. With the reduced burden on health centres and other medical institutions, our medical professionals will be able to spend more time and resources on the most serious medical cases, further increasing the quality of healthcare delivery across the country.”

The system uses text messages and voice calls so that it can be used as widely as possible, even on phones with limited multimedia and internet capabilities. Patients will get greater control over their own health, faster treatment and fewer trips to health facilities. An earlier service run by Babyl, launched in 2016, already has over 2 million registered users, has delivered over 1 million consultations and is delivering 3,000 more every day.

Dr Ali Parsa, founder and CEO of Babylon, said: “We are so proud to be helping make Rwanda a world-leader in digital health, and so humbled that the Government of Rwanda chose Babylon to help its ambition to provide universal primary care to all its citizens. Rwanda is showing the world how we can sustainably tackle the challenges in healthcare, and make it accessible and affordable for all.” 

The health service includes the creation of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) which are expected to improve record-keeping, information sharing, reduce duplication and lead to cost savings from improved health outcomes at patient and population levels.

Clare Akamanzi, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board, said: “Babyl’s investment in Rwanda contributes to Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation, particularly ensuring access to quality health for all, and establishes Rwanda as a globally competitive knowledge-based economy by reinforcing partnerships to build skills with practical applications in health.”