Google.org Awards $2.5m for Clinical AI Deployment in Nigeria

Emma Okonji

Nigerian health tech startup, Helium Health, has received a $2.5 million (N 3.4 billion) grant from Google.org to deploy clinical AI models into primary maternal healthcare in Nigeria.

Helium Health was selected as the only Nigerian organisation among 15 global recipients in the $30 million Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation, which supports organisations partnering with governments to improve public services.

Alongside the funding to deploy clinical AI models into primary maternal healthcare, the cohort will participate in a dedicated Google.org Accelerator to receive support from Google engineers and AI product experts.

Speaking about the grant, CEO of Helium Health, Dimeji Sofowora, said: “For the past decade, Helium Health has been building the technology and partnerships needed to improve healthcare delivery across Africa. Through our maternal health initiatives, we’ve already reached over 3.5 million women, and Google.org’s support gives us an opportunity to build on that foundation, scale what works, and reach even more women with quality maternal healthcare.”

Head of Public Health at Helium Health, Dr. Shona Oluwatola, said: “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. Our goal is to reach an additional 1.9 million women over three years and contribute to a 30 per cent reduction in maternal mortality. Ultimately, we want to ensure that no woman loses her life simply because she didn’t know she was at risk or couldn’t access the care she needed.”

Global Head of Google.org, Maggie Johnson, said: “AI holds incredible potential to transform public services, but there is often a gap between promise and practice. By equipping the 15 selected organisations 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. Together, we can ensure that AI makes a profound, positive difference in the everyday lives of communities worldwide.”