Ghana expects to strengthen AI-assisted healthcare collaboration with China

Ghana is expecting to strengthen AI-assisted healthcare collaboration with China to enhance the wellbeing of its people as the two countries keep promoting exchange and cooperation in the medical field.

The AI-assisted healthcare cooperation was built on the two countries' years of healthcare exchanges and communication, during which batches of Chinese medical workers had been sent to the African country to help enhance its independent medical capability.

"Our main goal is to help Ghanaian medical workers make progress through years of cooperation with us by introducing new ideas, providing technical guidance, and offering regular training. Our mission is to build a medical team that continues to serve even after we leave," said Yang Yongguang, leader of the 14th Chinese Medical Team to Ghana.

Yang's team successfully carried out surgeries to save two Ghanaian orphans from umbilical hernia at the China-Ghana Friendship Hospital, popularly known as Lekma Hospital, in Accra.

The milestone achievement stood as an exceptional example of the increasing medical cooperation between the two countries, which a top Ghanaian health official said will be further enhanced by focusing on high-tech fields such as AI.

"We've identified that using technology, you can bridge some of these gaps. And one of the areas of identify (identification) has to do with introducing AI into our health service system for screening, for diagnostics, for treatment, among many other things. And we are looking forward to collaborating with China, with the companies, with the AI companies to see how best together we would advance," said Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, director-general of the Ghana Health Service.

AI has emerged as one of the most important fields of medical cooperation between China and Ghana. In Aug 20, the second edition of the China-West Africa Medical and Health Industry Expo opened in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, to promote the use of AI in medical diagnosis and deepen project cooperation between China and West African countries.

The three-day event, co-organized by the Health Community of West Africa (HCOWA), a Ghana-based Chinese firm, and the Ghana Health Service, brought together government officials, health professionals, regulators, and more than 100 exhibitors from China and West African countries.

Ghana expects to strengthen AI-assisted healthcare collaboration with China

China's 15th Five-Year Plan proposal sends a strong signal of the country's commitment to upholding openness and cooperation, which will promote further development for the country and the world, said officials and scholars around the world.

The draft 15th Five-Year Plan, the blueprint that will guide the world's second-largest economy from 2026 to 2030, is central to steer China to move toward modernization amid technological disruption, demographic shifts and an increasingly fractured global order, according to the scholars.

"China's 15th Five-Year Plan is not a rigid model; it is more like benchmarks for growth targets and focal points. Chinese economists and economic decision-makers are not just focusing on qualitative growth, but also on innovative development. We're witnessing new transportation methods, robotics and artificial intelligence," said Andrey Denisov, first deputy chair of Russia's Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs and former Russian Ambassador to China.

"The 15th Five-Year Plan is of great importance to China's development. The country is poised to make remarkable advancements in various sectors, including artificial intelligence, high-end manufacturing and infrastructure construction. Given the shifting global context and China's transition towards high-quality development, I am confident that this plan will herald a new era for China's development," said Kamel Mansari, news director of the French-language daily Le Jeune Independent.

Scholars also noted that China's commitment to high-quality development and high-level opening-up will promote win-win results and benefit the world.

"China has emerged as a key partner for most countries worldwide, and a preferred partner due to its closeness and integration with global communities, as well as its strong humanitarian perspective. The Chinese economy has not only benefited itself; it has helped many economies worldwide flourish through its partnerships," said Dirgham Muhammad Ali, an Iraqi economic expert.

China's National People's Congress (NPC) is scheduled to open in Beijing on Wednesday, with lawmakers set to approve the 15th Five-Year Plan.

15th Five-Year Plan to guide China's development, benefit world: scholars