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Casablanca – GITEX Future Health Africa 2026 continues to show how far healthcare innovation can go when technology moves from concept to real-world use. The conversation is no longer about what could be done, but about what is already happening on the ground.
On the event’s second day, several sessions explored how artificial intelligence is actively reshaping healthcare systems across Africa. Among them was a presentation on tele-surgery titled “Tele-Surgery Reimagined: When Distance is No Longer a Barrier to Expertise.”
The session was led by Nouhade Mechkour, ICT Director at Orange Maroc, who highlighted the role of telecom and digital infrastructure in enabling telemedicine. From secure connectivity to cloud systems and cybersecurity, she stressed that these elements are what make telemedicine actually possible, not just imaginable.
And this is already more than theory, Mechkour argued, pointing to real operations that crossed not only cities but continents.
One landmark case connected Casablanca and Shanghai over 12,000 km in 2024, marking a world-first in tele-surgery. Another operation took place within Morocco in 2025 between Casablanca and Laayoune, showing that this innovation is not only global, but also deeply rooted at the national level.
In both cases, Orange played a key role as a technological partner supporting the entire infrastructure behind the procedures.
Mechkour stressed that tele-surgery relies on four main pillars: reliable connectivity, stable and trusted cloud infrastructure, strong cybersecurity, and AI-enabled systems.
Humans still at the center
Beyond all the technology, one message came through clearly: the human element remains irreplaceable. For Mechkour, AI is not here to take over medical practice, but to make it more accessible and efficient.
“I think that today, telemedicine is an infrastructure that allows bridging the gap between patients regardless of their geographical location with the different medical experts,” she told Morocco World News (MWN) on the sidelines of the event.
“Telemedicine today does not replace humans but makes health services accessible.”
She believes tele-surgery is especially powerful in addressing long-standing gaps in care, particularly in remote areas where specialists are not always available. In such cases, technology becomes less about distance and more about connection, making care possible where it once wasn’t.
A few years ago, suggesting that a surgeon could operate from miles away using a robot might have sounded like science fiction. Today, the world is already witnessing this shift in real time.
Thanks to AI and new technologies, healthcare is gradually moving toward more efficient and accessible systems. Africa, in this shift, is very much part of the journey.
This transformation will not happen overnight or reach full scale in five or ten years. It is a gradual process that requires time, infrastructure, and steady progress. What matters now is that concrete steps are being taken. GITEX Future Health Africa 2026 is one more step forward in that direction.
