Harnessing Data Science for Global Health Priorities in Africa

Harnessing Data Science for Global Health Priorities in Africa

The second annual Data Science Initiative-Africa (DSI-Africa) WASHA (Working on Applications for Data Science and Health in Africa) Takwimu (Swahili for Ignite Data) symposium was held on 19 July in Umhlanga, Durban. Focused on food systems, climate change and planetary health in Africa and South Africa from a health data science perspective, the symposium was part of the National Institutes of Health Grant, Research Training on Harnessing Data Science for Global Health Priorities in Africa training programme.

The keynote address was delivered by Professor Vukosi Marivate, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Chair of Data Science at the University of Pretoria.

Marivate delivered a thought-provoking presentation titled Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Practice: First do no Harm? He reflected on data collection during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (with particular reference to government interventions) and emphasised the importance of the availability of essential data – ‘really open data’. He said that health systems should have better ways to work and share data and cautioned, ‘be careful of simple solutions to complex problems.’

Professor Mosa Moshabela, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at UKZN and the grant’s UKZN Principal Investigator chaired the session and reflected on Marivate’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘He intentionally takes data science methods and works mostly with machine learning and artificial intelligence methods to extract and analyse data with the purpose of driving it for societal impact.’

Epidemiologist and former Chair of the Global Health and Population Sciences department at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Professor Wafaie Fawzi and the grant’s Principal Investigator at Harvard, gave an overview of WASHA Takwimu. ‘We are hoping to tap into data, harmonise it, and ask important questions on critical issues. We are focusing on two issues – climate change, food systems and health on the one hand, and health systems on the other.’ He underscored the importance of data methods which provided an impetus for including training as part of the initiative.

Fawzi said data science is multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary, ‘so we can’t do it without bringing together disciplines.’

Dr Namukolo Covic, Director General’s Representative to Ethiopia at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), presented on Food Systems, Climate Change and Planetary Health: Africa-wide Perspective.

Covic, who has a multidisciplinary academic background in crop science, animal and poultry science, and nutrition, posed the question: ‘Can a common vision propel positive progress on food systems transformation for Africa?’ She reflected on the challenges, including current dietary intakes in sub-Saharan Africa and advocated for a rich food bio-diversity.

Professor Lisa Ramsay spoke on Climate Change and Environmental Health in South Africa and outlined some of the applications of data science for environmental health related to climate change. She highlighted the need for targeted, informed, geographically specific interventions that are continuously improving with new data and improved models.

An Associate Professor in the College of Health Sciences at UKZN, Ramsay maintains a broad research portfolio and supervises postgraduate students researching air pollution exposure, climate change and health.

UKZN’s Professor Henry Mwambi, also the grant’s Principal Investigator, emphasised the importance of the DSI-Africa initiative and welcomed the delegates from Africa and further afield. ‘Our main task is to train the next generation of data scientists,’ he said.

Professor Serestina Viriri, Dean and Head of the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, said the University was excited to host the symposium with so many partners for the ‘general purpose of advancing science and its application to the Sustainable Development Goals, especially climate change.’

Professors Angela Chukwu and David Guwatudde, and Dr Candida Moshiro presented on Health Data Science in Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania, respectively. It is important to note that this training grant is building capacity among trainees in health data science methods, food systems, climate change and planetary health and health systems.

WASHA Takwimu is a collaboration between the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in the US, the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Germany and UKZN. This training grant aims to build data science research capacity in Africa with UKZN as the hub, supporting four spoke partners in sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria (University of Ibadan), Uganda (Makerere University), Tanzania (Muhimbili University), and Ghana (the University of Ghana).

Words: Raylene Captain-Hasthibeer

Photograph: Andile Ndlovu