Spending extra 5% of GDP on healthcare in developing countries can boost life expectancy

Integrating AI and robotics into existing healthcare systems will increase efficiency of healthcare investment by up to 20%, FII Institute says

A person getting tested for Covid-19 in Seoul. Integrating Artificial Intelligence and robotics in existing healthcare systems can help increase the efficiency of healthcare investment by up to 20%.

Life expectancy in developing countries can be extended by nine years if 5 per cent more of gross domestic product is invested in strengthening healthcare systems, according to a new report by Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII-I).

“If our governments make wise investment decisions, we can increase life expectancy and we can make our health services work better for people in every part of our planet," the FII Institute's chief executive Richard Attias said.

Published ahead of the fourth edition of the Future Investment Initiative to be held in Riyadh from January 27 to 28, the report underscores the importance of integrating Artificial Intelligence and robotics in existing healthcare systems, which can help increase the efficiency of healthcare investment by up to 20 per cent.

AI "shows considerable promise for preventing drug-resistant outbreaks", the report said.

"Databases containing the genomes from different strains of the pathogen are growing, along with information about whether they were susceptible to antibiotics," the report said.

"Using this data, AI can allow scientists to identify the DNA sequences that indicate resistance. This can speed up the treatment of diseases like TB."

AI can also help alert the world to the threat of a disease outbreak, according to the report.

"We were first made aware of Covid-19 in December 2019 by BlueDot, a company in Toronto. It used an algorithm to trawl notifications, disease networks, global news stories and even airline ticketing information to accurately predict how the outbreak would spread."

The coronavirus pandemic caught the world off-guard and pushed global healthcare systems to the brink as the number of infections surged beyond capacity. At the beginning of the year, many hospitals had a shortage of ventilators and beds.

As of Thursday, the pandemic has infected about 74.5 million people globally and claimed more than 1.65 million lives, according to Worldometer, which tracks the outbreak. More than 52.3 million people have recovered from the infection.

The report also said Africa has a long way to go to meet the United Nation’s health related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

"With 16 per cent of the global population, the continent accounts for 26 per cent of the global disease burden, yet receives less than 2 per cent of total global healthcare funding. If we can make significant progress here, it will be a major step forward."

Africa’s age demographic is also a challenge, according to the report. The world's second-largest and second-most populous continent will see its population double by 2050, with one-third will be under the age of 14.

"While this has the potential to create a 'demographic dividend', boosting economic growth and productivity, the flip side is that the 60 per cent of Africa’s population currently under 20 will, by 2050, be starting to age,” the report said.

In 30 years, Africa's health systems will come under pressure as they need to respond to needs of an ageing population and other segments of society. The current healthcare funding gap for the continent is around $66 billion per annum, which is "a serious obstacle to achieving affordable universal healthcare by 2030”, according to the report.

“The sort of rapid urbanisation Africa is experiencing is also set to pose problems. Urban migrants switch to less healthy diets, resulting in higher rates of costly chronic disease, while also living in overcrowded conditions, often with poor infrastructures.”