The National Malaria Elimination Programme and Sproxil Nigeria Limited are advancing the use of artificial intelligence to improve malaria surveillance in Nigeria, targeting gaps in data from private healthcare providers that officials say limit the government’s ability to track the disease and respond quickly.
The partnership was reinforced at a two-day Strategic Alignment Meeting in Lagos from 6 to 7 August, where officials of the Federal Ministry of Health, malaria researchers, development partners, the World Health Organisation, PATH and digital-health specialists examined how artificial intelligence and digital tools could strengthen malaria testing, reporting and public-health communication.
The core issue at the meeting was the volume of malaria diagnosis and treatment taking place outside government health facilities.
While routine data from public facilities feed into national surveillance and planning, information from private pharmacies, clinics and other healthcare providers is not captured as comprehensively, creating gaps in the picture available to health authorities.
“Especially in the private sector, we are missing a lot of data,” Head of Case Management at the National Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr Shekarau Emmanuel, said. “Even in reporting, we need accuracy.”
