Nigerian well being know-how firm, Helium Health, has secured a $2.5 million (roughly N3.4 billion) grant from Google.org to deploy synthetic intelligence (AI) options aimed toward bettering maternal healthcare supply in Nigeria.
The funding will assist the rollout of medical AI fashions by way of its maternal well being initiative, HeliumMum, throughout Lagos, Delta, Kano and Oyo states, with Lagos serving as the first operational launchpad.
According to an announcement by Google on Wednesday, the corporate was chosen as the one Nigerian organisation amongst 15 world recipients of the $30 million Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation, an initiative supporting organisations working with governments to enhance public service supply.
Alongside the funding, Helium Health may even take part in a devoted Google.org Accelerator programme, receiving technical assist from Google engineers and AI product consultants.
Healthcare initiative targets 1.9 million girls
The Nigerian implementation roadmap for the maternal healthcare programme was formally introduced in Lagos throughout an govt briefing with Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, led by executives from Google and Helium Health.
Helium Health stated the initiative goals to attain a further 1.9 million girls over three years and contribute to a 30% discount in maternal mortality by way of the deployment of AI-powered medical instruments.
Speaking on the initiative, Dimeji Sofowora, CEO of Helium Health, stated the funding would allow the corporate to scale its current maternal healthcare interventions and broaden entry to high quality care.
He famous that the corporate had reached greater than 3.5 million girls by way of its maternal well being initiatives over the previous decade.
Head of Public Health at Helium Health, Dr Shona Oluwatola, highlighted the urgency of the intervention, citing Nigeria’s vital contribution to world maternal deaths.
- “Nigeria accounts for nearly three in every ten maternal deaths globally. Behind every maternal death is a woman whose family expected her to come home,” she stated.
Oluwatola stated the corporate hopes to contribute to a 30% discount in maternal mortality by serving to girls determine being pregnant dangers early and entry acceptable medical consideration.
How HeliumMum will use AI
Through HeliumMum, Helium Health plans to deploy AI instruments that can assist pregnant girls determine potential being pregnant problems early and join them with acceptable healthcare suppliers.
The platform will hyperlink pregnant girls to healthcare amenities geared up with digital medical data and AI-powered medical determination assist methods, serving to healthcare professionals make extra knowledgeable selections and ship acceptable care.
The initiative may even present governments with actionable knowledge to strengthen maternal well being providers, determine gaps in healthcare supply and enhance maternal well being outcomes.
The deployment throughout the 4 states is predicted to strengthen the mixing of digital well being options into main healthcare supply, significantly in maternal well being providers.
Google expands AI assist for public providers
Google.org stated the funding is a part of its broader effort to bridge the hole between the potential of synthetic intelligence and its sensible utility in bettering public providers.
Maggie Johnson, Global Head of Google.org, stated the chosen organisations would obtain each monetary assist and technical help from Google’s AI consultants to exhibit how the know-how can handle real-world challenges.
- “By equipping the 15 selected organizations with funding and pro bono support from Google’s own AI experts, we are empowering the people closest to the problem to show what is truly possible,” she stated.
The Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation supplies funding to organisations growing AI-powered options in areas together with well being, resilience and the financial system.
What you must know
The grants to Helium Health marks the newest in Google’s drives to empower Nigerian startups, particularly these specializing in AI.
In April this yr, Nairametrics reported that Google chosen 4 Nigerian startups for the tenth cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa programme.
The 4 chosen startups included Bani, MasteryHive AI, Regxta and Termii.
- The chosen startups are deploying synthetic intelligence to resolve key enterprise and monetary challenges throughout the continent.
- Bani operates a cross-border funds infrastructure platform designed to eradicate settlement delays for African companies buying and selling globally.
- MasteryHive AI supplies an AI-driven platform that automates transaction reconciliation, fraud detection and anti-money laundering monitoring.
Regxta combines various data-based credit score scoring with a hybrid digital agent mannequin to ship monetary providers to unbanked micro companies, whereas Termii gives an AI powered communications infrastructure platform targeted on dependable monetary messaging for banks and fintech corporations.
