Africa Digital Parliamentary Summit: Can Policy Keep Up with Innovation?

From 9 to 11 July 2025, the Pan-African Parliament , moving unneurotic with the African Population and Health Research Center  and the GSMA , hosted the inaugural Africa Digital Parliamentary Summit successful Lusaka, Zambia. This gathering was organised to research however Africa tin signifier its attack to artificial intelligence, information protection, integer health, and modern manufacturing, truthful that exertion serves the continent’s improvement successful a just and sustainable way.

Members of Parliament from committees connected transport, industry, communications, energy, subject and technology, health, labour, and societal affairs were joined by elder representatives of AUDA-NEPAD , Africa CDC,  the African Peer Review Mechanism  and ECOSOCC . Over the people of 3 days, participants explored the intersections of technology, governance and development, with peculiar attraction to artificial intelligence, liable information use, integer wellness systems and the imaginable of precocious manufacturing to fortify Africa’s concern capacity. 

The TechAfrica News squad was contiguous astatine summit, providing on-the-ground sum portion engaging with cardinal stakeholders from government, industry, and civilian nine to seizure divers perspectives and stock an informed, autarkic relationship of the discussions and outcomes

The sessions were opened by the Honourable Felix Mutati, Minister of Technology and Science of the Republic of Zambia, who remarked connected the timeliness of the discussions, fixed the continent’s urgent request to harness technological advancement for broad-based socio-economic development.  

The opening ceremonial featured three keynote addresses. Honourable Behdja Lammali, Chairperson of the Pan-African Parliament Committee connected Transport, Industry, Communications, Energy, Science and Technology, Dr Anthony Mveyange, Director of Programmes, Synergy astatine APHRC, and Mr Kenechi Okeleke, Senior Director astatine GSMA, each reaffirmed their institutions’ committedness to supporting the Summit’s objectives. All 3 speakers emphasised the value of equipping Members of Parliament with the cognition and penetration needed to legislate responsibly successful fields that are some analyzable and rapidly evolving. 

Using Research to Guide Policy

The archetypal presentations were led by Dr Anthony Mweyangwe of the African Population and Health Research Center. He explained however APHRC works to link probe grounds with argumentation and decision-making. The organisation, which is progressive successful thirty-five African countries, focuses connected collecting reliable data, gathering skills successful spouse countries, and keeping dialog unfastened betwixt researchers and policymakers.

“At APHRC, we firmly judge that integer wellness is simply a transformative force, holding immense imaginable for Africa to ‘leapfrog’ accepted improvement pathways. This Summit powerfully demonstrates how, by leveraging AI alongside advancements successful integer wellness and astute manufacturing, we tin accelerate socio-economic advancement and foster deeper continental integration, straight aligning with the ambitious goals of the African Union’s Agenda.”
– Dr Anthony Mveyange, Director of Programmes, Synergy, APHRC

Artificial Intelligence: Balancing Progress and Responsibility

The Summit’s discussions connected artificial quality were led by Members of Parliament who stressed the request to recognize some however instrumentality learning works successful mentation and however it tin beryllium utilized successful practice. Speakers gave examples of however AI could assistance amended transport systems, negociate cities much efficiently and enactment amended healthcare delivery.

At the aforesaid time, galore contributors warned that these technologies should beryllium utilized carefully, with wide respect for ethics, fairness and people’s rights. There were peculiar concerns astir bias successful algorithms and the hazard that, without due rules, entree to idiosyncratic oregon assemblage information could make unfair powerfulness imbalances.

Speaking connected the taxable in an interrogation with our Chief Editor during the event, Honourable Behdja Lammali, Chairperson of the Pan-African Parliament Committee connected Transport, Industry, Communications, Energy, Science and Technology, remarked:

“In my perspective, AI offers an important avenue for addressing challenges successful healthcare, industry, and transportation. It could amended efficiency, accessibility, and quality—especially for Africans surviving successful agrarian and distant areas. If we are agreed and travel a beardown strategy, AI volition accelerate Africa’s development.”
– Honourable Behdja Lammali, Chairperson of the Pan-African Parliament Committee connected Transport, Industry, Communications, Energy, Science and Technology

John Kamara, successful a abstracted video interview, reinforced this position but cautioned against premature oregon uninformed regulation. He stressed the request to archetypal recognize the quality of AI and its implications:

“Healthcare is simply a precise delicate industry, arsenic you mentioned. Manufacturing besides has a batch of intelligence property. But the innovation that AI brings, I believe, outweighs the existent risks—though those risks inactive exist. Regulating thing we bash not afloat recognize becomes a challenge. It tin besides stifle the innovation and velocity of adoption that are captious astatine this stage.”
– John Kamara, Founder and Global Chief Executive Officer Adanian Labs Founder – AI Centre of Excellence

It’s just to reason that Africa’s lawmakers person a peculiar work to marque definite immoderate rules for utilizing AI bespeak the continent’s ain needs and values, alternatively of simply copying policies from different regions without considering section realities. 

Peer Review and Working Together Across Borders

The treatment past turned to however African countries tin larn from 1 different and support each different accountable. The Africa Peer Review Mechanism remains a bully illustration of this, showing however states tin stock lessons and amended policies done honorable exchange.

AUDA-NEPAD presented the Programme for Infrastructure Development successful Africa (PIDA) arsenic impervious that determination projects tin win erstwhile they are good designed, funded and supported by governmental leaders. Many speakers suggested that akin associated efforts should beryllium expanded to integer regulation, which would assistance marque commercialized easier, support information crossed borders and let skilled workers to determination much freely wrong Africa.

Digital Health: Strengthening Systems and Protecting Data

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention gave an update connected its integer wellness strategy. It highlighted the advancement made and besides the challenges that remain, specified arsenic gaps successful information sharing and anemic systems for wellness accusation successful immoderate regions.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed intelligibly that bully information saves lives. Participants agreed that African countries should enactment unneurotic to stock wellness information securely and fairly, with safeguards to support idiosyncratic information. The thought of “Data Science Without Borders” was shared arsenic a extremity that could fortify the continent’s wellness security, if handled properly.

The Digital Health Industry Report that followed painted a wide representation of wherever the integer disagreement inactive blocks adjacent entree to care. Improving connectivity, integer literacy and spot successful integer systems were each raised arsenic urgent areas for aboriginal investment. 

Modern Manufacturing: A Path to Stronger Industry

The last large taxable was astute manufacturing, presented by GSMA. The study showed that caller technologies specified arsenic automation, robotics and blockchain tin assistance African industries rise merchandise quality, trim discarded and vie much powerfully successful planetary markets.

One wide illustration was Morocco, which present exports much cars to Europe than China oregon Japan—a motion that African industries tin pb if the close conditions are successful place. According to the analysis, modern manufacturing could adhd up to 10 cardinal dollars to Africa’s GDP by 2030. But for this to happen, governments request to walk laws that pull investors, support caller ideas and assistance workers summation the skills required for precocious accumulation methods.

Kelechi Okeleke exemplified Morocco’s advancement during a video interrogation with america astatine the summit, highlighting it arsenic a lawsuit of strategical argumentation involution successful astute manufacturing.

“Morocco is simply a beardown example. While examining the taxable of astute manufacturing, we observed that astir 10 years ago, the Moroccan authorities removed taxes connected circumstantial peculiar economical zones focused connected automobile production. At the time, Morocco was producing astir 53,000 cars annually. By 2023, that fig had risen to implicit 550,000. This illustrates however a forward-looking argumentation involution by authorities tin importantly thrust maturation successful the manufacturing sector. It is the benignant of strategical attack that different governments crossed the portion tin see to stimulate some integer wellness and astute manufacturing successful their ain countries.”
– Kenechi Okeleke, Senior Director, Regional, Social and Policy Research, GSMA

The Lusaka Declaration: A Commitment to Act

At the adjacent of 3 days of presentations and discussion, the Summit adopted the Lusaka Declaration, a papers mounting retired shared priorities and applicable steps to assistance Africa’s integer translation beforehand successful a fair, liable and evidence-based way.

The Declaration highlights the important relation that Members of Parliament play successful shaping laws to support rights, enactment innovation and marque definite integer tools genuinely service everyone. The Summit itself offered a invaluable accidental for lawmakers to deepen their knowing of analyzable caller technologies and physique assurance to code them done legislation.

By agreeing to the Lusaka Declaration, those contiguous affirmed a shared work to guarantee Africa’s integer aboriginal rests connected dependable evidence, thoughtful argumentation and a wide committedness to permission nary 1 behind. Beyond ceremonial speeches, the gathering gave leaders a abstraction to listen, larn and renew their determination to enactment together. With stronger partnerships and cautious guidance, Africa is amended placed to determination guardant and signifier its integer aboriginal connected its ain terms.