Navigating the trends, strides and dilemmas of ingraining the fourth industrial revolution in health care delivery system in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract The state of healthcare provision in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has revolved around scientific and technological discoveries. The ushering in of the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has fallen under the same footprint of utilising advanced technologies in healthcare provision in SSA. However, the extent to which the 4IR is used to strengthen health systems, and the hurdles therein, remains fragmented and thinly illuminated across SSA. Guided by the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and drawing on extensive literature, this paper interrogates the imperative of the 4IR in strengthening the health system. The paper argues that by leveraging 4IR, SSA revitalised health systems, improving logistical medical supply, big health data management, and health governance. In addition, patient-doctor relationships have been enhanced, thus increasing trust in the health systems. However, as SSA reveres the 4IR as a pathway for health transformation, the quest for readiness to adopt this innovation has been hampered by weak infrastructure, continued imperialist up thrust dividing North-South in the use of 4IR products, and an unsupportive policy environment that retards effective investment in the 4IR. Again, the acute shortage of health personnel, fueled by medical brain drain, impedes the full exploration of 4IR. This paper posits that the 4IR is ineluctably crucial for strengthening health systems. It thus serves as a wake-up call for SSA governments to create the policy environment that drives appropriate physical, human, and financial investment in 4IR to improve healthcare provision.