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Casablanca – The inaugural edition of GITEX Future Health Africa 2026 kicked off this morning at the Casablanca International Fair, marking the launch of a three-day gathering focused on the future of healthcare across the continent.
Running through May 6, the event is held under the theme “Digitising Africa’s Healthcare Future: Essential Care Advancing With AI,” setting the tone for a high-level dialogue on innovation, investment, and the future of health systems in Africa.
Speaking at the opening ceremony were Amine Tahraoui, Minister of Health and Social Protection, and Youns Bjijou, Director of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Science and Health (FM6SS). Both stressed the direction Morocco and Africa must take in reshaping their healthcare systems.
Tahraoui pointed out that Morocco already has the necessary tools to shape the continent’s health transformation, including AI, telemedicine, epidemiological algorithms, and diagnostic support systems.
The challenge, he noted, is not the availability of these technologies, but whether the health system is fully prepared to integrate and use them effectively.
“Africa has everything it takes to build its own health system. What we still lack today is coordination,” the minister said. He pointed to the need for stronger collaboration in building a shared African market for medicines and medical devices, as well as coordinated approaches to vaccine production and epidemiological monitoring.
Youns Bjijou, for his part, placed emphasis on accessibility and inclusivity, stressing that healthcare systems must be designed for all segments of the population. “We do not build a health system for a fraction of the population, we build it for all, regardless of geography, social conditions, or generation,” he said.
He also argued that strengthening healthcare across Africa is a shared responsibility, requiring collective commitment from institutions, professionals, and policymakers alike. “The future of health is a responsibility that belongs to all of us, in everything this responsibility implies,” he concluded.
Today’s focus: GITEX Future Health Executive Summit
As the day continues, attention turns to the GITEX Future Health Executive Summit. Held under the theme “Financing Health Sovereignty: From Dependency to Dominance,” the discussions focus on the structural transformation of Africa’s health systems and the financial and policy mechanisms required to support greater autonomy.
At the center of these exchanges is the question of health sovereignty. It is not only about the adoption of digital and AI-driven tools, but through Africa’s capacity to design, produce, regulate, and govern its own health systems.
This shift moves beyond technological adoption toward systemic independence from external supply chains, aid structures, and imported expertise.
The sessions will also explore broader policy priorities, including health sovereignty, financing universal health coverage, multilateral health policy alignment across Africa, regulatory frameworks for a pan-African health system, and the role of epidemiological intelligence in supporting decentralized decision-making.
What’s in store for the week ahead
The second day will focus on the Digital First Hospitals Forum, under the theme “Engineering Resilient Hospitals for Africa’s Future.”
The forum will focus on rethinking hospitals not as static infrastructure, but as adaptive systems designed for resilience, scale, and digital integration. It will also address the operational and investment frameworks needed to develop future-ready hospital networks across the continent.
The final day will conclude with the Intelligent Care Forum, held under the theme “Human-Centric Intelligence Through Data, Design, and Digital Empathy.”
Discussions will center on the evolving relationship between technology and care delivery, with a strong emphasis on prevention, patient-centred systems, and the shift from reactive to proactive healthcare models.
Today, more than 300 exhibitors and health brands and more than 50 investors from over 30 countries are expected to gather on the showroom floor in Casablanca. Organized by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Science and Health, and Kaoun International, GITEX Future Health will put Africa at the center of digital health conversations for the first time.
At a broader level, the discussions unfolding in Casablanca reflect a wider continental shift.
For Morocco and Africa, the focus on health sovereignty signals a growing recognition that healthcare is not only a social priority, but also a strategic pillar for resilience, investment autonomy, and long-term stability.
