Kenyan scientist Dr. Samuel Oyola has been awarded a Sh187 million grant to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered public health surveillance system capable of predicting disease outbreaks and monitoring drug-resistant pathogens.
Pathogens are disease-causing organisms such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi that can infect humans and animals.
Dr. Oyola, who serves as the Head of Genomics at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), received the US$1.45 million (Sh187 million) grant from the Gates Foundation.
The project will be carried out in collaboration with two PhD students, who will use AI technology to analyze the data collected during the study.
The research team will collect wastewater samples from 30 sites—18 in Kisumu and 12 in Mombasa—as part of an initiative that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kisumu and Mombasa were selected because Nairobi already has an established wastewater surveillance program, while the two coastal and lakeside cities have some of Kenya’s most developed sewerage systems.
Dr. Oyola said lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that wastewater analysis can be used to detect disease-causing pathogens early, providing a powerful tool for predicting outbreaks and strengthening public health preparedness.
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