TLDR: The Western Cape Government has become the first province in South Africa to approve an Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy framework for public healthcare. This landmark policy aims to establish ethical guidelines for AI implementation, balancing innovation with patient safety and human dignity within a resource-constrained health system. The initiative is part of a broader African movement towards ethical AI governance, focusing on data sovereignty, inclusive development, and preventing algorithmic bias.
The Western Cape Government has taken a significant step forward in the responsible integration of technology by approving its inaugural provincial Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy framework for public healthcare. This pioneering policy, announced on September 2, 2025, is designed to create a robust ethical framework that ensures AI innovations in healthcare prioritize patient safety, human dignity, and equitable access, particularly within the context of a resource-constrained public health system.
This move by the Western Cape aligns with a growing continental push for ethical AI governance. African leaders, researchers, and innovators are increasingly advocating for frameworks that are grounded in local realities, protect civil rights, and foster technological sovereignty. This is crucial as AI is projected to contribute a staggering $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with the Global South, including much of Africa, expected to receive only 10% of this impact. Without localized governance, there is a significant risk that AI could exacerbate existing inequalities.
The policy builds upon international and continental efforts. In 2021, UNESCO released its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, setting a global standard for AI governance encompassing data protection, privacy, inclusive innovation, and risk mitigation. Following this, the African Union (AU) adopted its Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy in 2024, which focuses on regulatory frameworks, local innovation, and civil rights protections. The same year, 52 African states signed the Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence in Kigali, underscoring a collective commitment to responsible AI development.
However, Africa still faces a considerable digital divide. Only a handful of nations, including Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Mauritius, and Nigeria, have developed national AI strategies or regulatory bodies. Many countries continue to grapple with inadequate infrastructure, limited internet access, unreliable power, and under-resourced research ecosystems, which hinder AI adoption and innovation.
Experts emphasize that ‘AI ethics in Africa has to be grounded in our lived realities,’ as stated by Dhesen Ramsamy, Group Chief Technology and Data Officer at Old Mutual Limited. He further elaborated that it’s not merely about abstract concepts of fairness and privacy, but about ensuring technologies serve people equitably, preserve human dignity, and reflect African values. There is a concern that Western-designed AI systems, often trained on non-African datasets, could lead to ‘algorithmic colonization,’ overriding local priorities and amplifying structural inequities.
Louis-Neil Korsten, CEO of Spock, highlighted the importance of incorporating philosophies like Ubuntu, which champions community and collective benefit, into African data policies. He advocates for ‘AI independence through competitive free markets,’ achieved by focusing on open-source models, localized infrastructure, and African-driven applications to reduce reliance on dominant global players.
Central to this governance agenda is data sovereignty, ensuring that African data remains localized and that its value is equitably extracted. Key priorities include building diverse and representative datasets to ensure fairness, auditing for bias, designing decentralized data practices, and incentivizing the creation of African datasets. Currently, only 2.8% of global computer vision training datasets include African faces, leading to higher error rates in critical applications such as healthcare diagnostics and financial assessments.
Also Read:
- AI Observatory Unveils Framework to Bridge Global Learning Disparities with Artificial Intelligence
- New Zealand Government Utilizes AI in Developing its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy
The Western Cape’s new policy is a crucial step in balancing AI innovation with necessary regulation and inclusion, aiming to protect communities from exploitative data practices, algorithmic bias, and surveillance, while harnessing AI’s potential to transform healthcare for the better.
