illustration /PHOTO ; Courtesy
A new collaboration is setting out to bridge two urgent needs: advancing brain health and closing Africa’s digital innovation gap.
The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC) and the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) have partnered to explore how artificial intelligence (AI), data, and digital solutions can power equitable, African-led innovation in brain health.
Through a new Data.Digital.AI for Brain Health Across Africa roundtable series, the initiative seeks to accelerate smarter prevention, early diagnosis, and inclusive care for dementia and related conditions across the continent.
The effort aligns with the priorities of the South African-led G20 Health Working Group, which places health equity and security at the top of the global agenda and highlights AI as a tool to strengthen health systems and support frontline workers.
“AI holds transformative potential for brain health. From improving early detection and diagnosis to enabling scalable caregiver support tools, AI can help bridge gaps in access and resources, as well as extend expert care to remote communities, offer continuous monitoring, and deliver personalised interventions that reduce caregiver burden,” said DAC Executive Vice President Dr. Vaibhav Narayan.
The collaboration also positions Africa to lead in AI-driven health innovation, offering a model for tackling health disparities through smarter, more inclusive partnerships.
Research conducted by the SFA Foundation, spanning 43 countries, underscores both the promise of AI in genomics, diagnostics, and pandemic preparedness, and the need for transparent governance frameworks to ensure that emerging technologies narrow rather than widen existing inequalities.
To ensure the work is grounded in African realities, DAC and the SFA Foundation have launched a stakeholder survey to identify regional opportunities, challenges, and priorities.
These insights will guide the upcoming AI roundtables and inform a joint action plan to be presented at the G20 Brain Health Convening on November 4, 2025, where both organizations will serve as co-conveners.
Echoing this, Uzma Alam, Program Lead for Policy Engagement at the SFA Foundation, emphasized that Africa’s AI strategy must be guided by equity, ethics, and locally driven frameworks.
“AI presents us with a significant opportunity to advance brain health across Africa. However, this potential can only be achieved if governance frameworks are designed to reflect our continent’s context and priorities.”
“It is therefore imperative that Africa’s AI future in brain health be shaped by regionally led, locally grounded frameworks that respect our realities, empower vulnerable populations, build trust, and ensure ethical and equitable use of data. Only by centering African voices and collaboration can we drive inclusive and effective solutions that truly strengthen our health systems,” said Alam.
Her statement reflects a growing recognition within the global health philanthropy community that technology alone cannot close the equity gap it must be coupled with inclusive governance and investment in local research capacity.
To underscore the broader significance of this partnership, Dr. Adewale M. Aderemi, Director of Democratic Studies at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), highlighted AI’s potential as a catalyst for development across sectors.
“AI is a very crucial, timeous and possibly game-changing intervention for Africa in several sectors. It holds the potential to blur the burgeoning technological gap between Africa and the rest of the world and make the continent better integrated and more competitive,” he said.
Dr. Aderemi added that political commitment will be vital to realizing this potential:
“In mental health, particularly, AI deployment will not only dramatically obliterate some of Africa’s well-documented healthcare challenges but will also be capable of nurturing its healthy, youthful social capital and thereby boost productivity. I hope this is apparent to the political class across the continent and that we find the political will to prioritise this as a policy matter.”
The DAC–SFA Foundation collaboration reflects a shift in global philanthropy and innovation partnerships, where African-led institutions are increasingly shaping agendas around health equity, technology, and knowledge production.
By convening African scientists, policymakers, and innovators under a shared vision, the initiative aims to create a blueprint for ethical AI in health, one that could redefine global standards while strengthening Africa’s leadership in science, data, and human-centered innovation.
The Data.Digital.AI for Brain Health Across Africa roundtable series is part of the Africa Task Force on Brain Health, recently published in Nature Medicine.
The workstream is being advanced in partnership with the SFA Foundation collaborator, Research Enterprise Systems (RES), an Africa–based hub that supports the secure, ethical, and equitable use of digital research infrastructure to drive this effort.
The workstream is led by African experts and organized through a multisectoral structure. The Task Force brings together leaders from the continent’s regional economic blocks to design regionally responsive action.
This effort will culminate in a comprehensive action plan at the G20 Brain Health convening in November, positioning Africa’s leadership in AI-driven brain health innovation as central to the global agenda.
About the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative
The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC) is a global, multi-stakeholder partnership dedicated to advancing brain health and building an innovation ecosystem that accelerates breakthroughs, develops and scales promising solutions, and equips every healthcare system to end Alzheimer’s disease everywhere.
Launched at the World Economic Forum, DAC unites leaders from research, industry, government, and patient advocacy to speed the discovery, development, and delivery of new treatments.
About the Science for Africa Foundation
The SFA Foundation is a pan-African, non-profit and public charity organisation that supports, strengthens and promotes science and innovation in Africa.
The SFA Foundation serves the African research ecosystem by funding excellent ideas in research and innovation, enabling interdisciplinary collaborations, and building and reinforcing environments that are conducive for scientists to thrive and produce quality research that generates new, locally relevant knowledge.
