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Casablanca – Day 2 of GITEX Future Health Africa 2026 picked up where things left off, this time with a clear focus on artificial intelligence and what it actually means for healthcare across Africa. At the center of it all was the first edition of MedAI 2026, bringing together voices from medicine, research, and tech to connect the dots.
Co-organized by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Science and Health, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, and the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, the conference gathered national and international experts to explore how AI is moving from theory into real-life health systems.
At a press conference during the event, Bassma Jioudi, Vice-President of Engineering at the Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences and President of the conference, emphasized the significance of holding the event within GITEX, which she described as a showcase of advanced technological, digital, and AI-driven solutions for health.
Jioudi also highlighted its role as a platform for exchange between researchers and experts working on the practical use of these technologies in the health sector.
‘Artificial intelligence for Health and Innovation’
Under the theme “Artificial intelligence for Health and Innovation,” this international conference started the sessions with an inaugural panel focused on how medical research is evolving in the age of artificial intelligence, with an emphasis on data, models, and trust.
During the session, Anas Doukkali, President of the E-Health Innovation Center, described the initiative as part of a broader construction that has long defined the mission of the foundation. He explained that this construction rests on four pillars: care, training, research, and innovation, all evolving together to support the transformation of the health system.
For Doukkali, MedAI fits naturally within this dynamic, particularly through its focus on innovation. “It is a real convergence between technological innovation, scientific research and the transformation of health systems. We are in the era of this profound transformation of our system,” he said.
Doukkali also pointed out that AI is no longer a distant concept in Morocco’s academic and research landscape. It is already present across disciplines, from medical and engineering schools to other fields, reflecting a growing shift in how research and training are approached.
Still, the conversation did not overlook the bigger picture. Questions around ethics were raised alongside the more practical concern of how to move from research to real impact.
Read also: GITEX Future Health Africa 2026: Health Sovereignty at the Heart of the Continent’s Future
As highlighted during the session, health systems across the continent are placing strong expectations on AI to help address public health challenges and improve care delivery, making this transition a key issue going forward.
He also pointed to the uncertainty surrounding AI, noting that its real impact will be clear with time. In Morocco’s case, he argued that the health system already has solid foundations, with digital tools seen as a way to move faster and improve existing structures.
Jamila El Alami, General Director of the National Centre for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST), outlined the center’s mission to support, develop, and promote research, alongside facilitating access to scientific resources and strengthening the visibility of research outputs.
She explained that this support is structured around several poles, including research support, promotion, and mutualization.
With this initiative, the center hopes to make a wide range of scientific databases and bibliographic resources available to researchers and doctoral students across public universities. Access to these resources represents a significant investment, she noted, explaining that the center has allocated around 30 million dirhams this year alone to ensure broad and free access for the academic community.
The session concluded with the signing of a partnership convention between the Mohammed VI Foundation for Science and Health and Astrazeneca. This marks a step toward strengthening collaboration in health research and innovation, with a focus on translating scientific work into practical healthcare impact.
