The 21st century witnesses increased incidence of epidemics (Zika, dengue, Ebola, SARS), with as latest highlight the recent COVID-19. Following the outbreak of several infectious diseases during the last few decade, the need for generating real-time pathogen genomic data for public health action has become more important than ever. In the African context, infrastructure, human resource capability, data analysis, including bioinformatics, lack of linkage between clinical, epidemiological, and pathogen genomic data as well the interaction between clinicians, researchers and decision makers are some of the major challenges. The aim of the EpiGen project is to build a capacity for integrated pathogen genomic surveillance for informed public health decision process. The overarching specific objectives include strengthening collection and analysis of clinical and epidemiological data, enhancing the capacity and capability for pathogen genomic sequencing, including strengthening the laboratory infrastructure, human work force, pathogen genomic data analysis, and the integration of metadata with genomic data, developing and implementing innovative digital diagnostic platforms, creating semi-real time mobile phone applications for policy decisions, and promoting communities of practice and knowledge exchange through fostering African collaboration and networking in the domain of pathogen genomic surveillance for infectious diseases. EpiGen project’s multi-disciplinary consortium is drawn from several institutions from Ethiopia engaged in National Public Health Programs, and EU partners (The Netherlands, Spain and Germany). Overall, the model approach proposed by EpiGen will enhance Ethiopia’s national effort in mitigating the threat of infectious diseases. The implementation of a national genomic-informed surveillance for infectious diseases will play significant public health role towards contributing to disease prevention and control programmes in Ethiopia and beyond.

A new generation of diagnostic systems available at the point of care (POC) could save lives and reduce the spread of infectious diseases worldwide through early detection and treatment. Optical microscopy remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of many parasitological diseases; however, its accuracy is dependent on the availability and expertise of the analyst at the POC. This limitation is increased by the dependence on labour-intensive examination processes, lack of standardization, high interobserver variability, insufficient precision in sample quantification and, as a consequence, a high misdiagnosis rate. This project introduces an AI diagnostic system leveraging existing microscopes and mobile technology providing a comprehensive and holistic sample analysis rather than just detecting individual pathogens. MultiplexAI is a scalable, low-cost, autonomous AI diagnostic system for the POC that upgrades any optical microscope into an AI agent able to accurately identify any parasite in a sample. We will collect data, train, deploy and evaluate the integrated system to detect multiple diseases including malaria and parasitic Neglected Tropical Diseases. The project will pursue the following objectives and methodological steps: 1) To design a trustworthy AI system, ensuring technical and social robustness, and adherence to WHO AI ethical principles of safety, transparency, explainability, accountability, equity, and sustainability; 2) To develop AI foundational models for microscopy analysis capable of automating the detection, differentiation and quantification of multiple parasites causing disease and integrate them into an automatic mobile microscopy system; 3) To validate the system in laboratory settings; 4) To undertake a performance evaluation study in clinical workflows of four countries in SSA; 5) To assess usability, acceptability and feasibility with end-users and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of its implementation; 6) To model and evaluate the health impact of introducing our system to improve diagnosis and surveillance at both local and national level; and 7) To execute a regulatory roadmap for compliance in EU and SSA, and determine a path to market. Overall, this project aims to unleash the AI revolution leveraging mobile technologies and upgrading millions of optical microscopes into a network of intelligent POC devices, capable of performing high-throughput sample analysis to provide reliable and ubiquitous diagnostics and medical knowledge for everyone, everywhere.

The EWA-BELT project aims at developing SI of agriculture productions in organic, agroforestry and mixed crop and livestock farming systems in 38 study areas of 6 countries belonging to East (Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania) and West (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Sierra Leone) Africa. The research activities, carried out in Farmer Field Research Units (FFRU), will address areas including marginalized and/or abandoned lands and existing agricultural lands to increase their yield potential. Through integrated participative researches, innovative tools (FFRU, ICT, Integrated Pest Disease Management - IPDM) and identification and dissemination of best practices, all countries will be linked into an interregional East-West African BELT able to reinforce SI in agriculture. The project will enhance the current scientific knowledge on the adaptation of new and improved traditional crops in different agroecosystems and the impacts of traditional agricultural practices on soil health in terms of nutrients, water retention and organic matter content. EWA-BELT will also investigate the introduction of innovative and appropriate plant protection technologies in the IPDM for key crops and the identification of a set of indicators to be used in the assessment of the SI approach impacts taking into account environmental health and, synergically, economic and social aspects. The project will introduce highly innovative cost-affordable technologies, to be easily used in the field by unskilled personnel. Technical benefits provided by all implemented techniques will be then evaluated for their economic effect on farmers and along the value chain. EWA-BELT will address gender issues and empowering women at every stage of the process. Finally, to maximize the impact, project results (in progress and final achievements) will be yearly disseminated during the “Infopoverty U.N. Conference”, one of the U.N. highest-level initiatives to elaborate strategies and design solutions towards SI.

PUREMIND will deliver the first Integrated Mental Healthcare Ecosystem (IMHE) to predict/early identify Mental Health Disorders (MHD) and create more optimal personalised interventions to prevent MHD and thereby improving wellbeing in children, adolescents, and young adults (0–25 years). The ecosystem will mitigate key challenges associated with MHDs, specifically 1)Detection: 1 in 7 undetected and untreated MHD cases, 2)Efficiency of treatment: lack of tools and guidelines for personalised multidisciplinary interventions that work, 3)Access to Support and Care: long waiting times for care due to lack of trained personnel, 4)Inequality: disparate and inadequate inter- and intra-country mental healthcare services and 5)Modern Cultures and Lifestyle: the increasingly recognised risk factor of digital addiction resulting in sedentary, socially isolated lifestyle contributing to MHD. These will be addressed by PUREMIND’s approach of combining analytical modelling of dynamical systems in the cyber-physical context of a subject’s personal natural environment-gene-gut-brain-MHD interactions process creating a much-needed personalised intervention synthesis framework that will be exploited by an AI engine to deliver optimised personalised intervention, and a unique digital twin educating young people how MHD might develop depending on their environment and lifestyle. These 2 components will be combined in an accessible/ adaptable mobile app MyMind to measure at scale and allow a subject to seamlessly access a 4-tier service architecture involving family, community, clinical and emergency services, to support prediction/early detection of MHD, empowering them to monitor their own mental health at home/educational/community settings and taking preventive actions against MHD. The IMHE will be designed using Implementation Science approach and will be validated in a 12month pilot study in 7 European countries and 2 LMICs covering different socioeconomic and cultural scenarios.

Our objective is to inform e-health policymaking towards better health outcomes through a bottom-up evidence-based holistic approach. BETTEReHEALTH will set up four Regional Hubs based in Tunisia, Ghana, Ethiopia and Malawi, already endorsed by each country's Ministry of Health. Each hub will organise coordination and networking activities (including two regional workshops) involving national and regional actors. We are planning actions to address three aspects related to successful e-health: human, technical and public policy factors. We will also organise two international workshops to promote the cooperation and networking between Europe and Africa. BETTEReHEALTH will create open access registries by collecting information from African countries regarding e-health policies and existing e-health solutions. The registries will be used to identify best-practices and produce useful knowledge regarding e-health implementation. The knowledge produced in registries, together with the input from the other activities will be synthesized into e-health policy roadmaps and strategic implementation plans for better e-health services for the four countries hosting Regional Hubs, but will also be of high relevance for other African countries. The strengths of BETTEReHEALTH are the diversity of the involved partners, which will contribute to an interdisciplinary approach (including health, technical and policymaking actors), the evidence-based approach guaranteed by the academic and research partners, and the strong local involvement ensured by the four Regional Hubs. BETTEReHEALTH will increase the level of international cooperation in e-health, inform and strengthen end-user communities and policy makers in making the right decisions for the successful implementation of e-health, and lead to increased opportunities for stakeholders in Africa and Europe with the overall aim of better health outcomes through better healthcare accessibility and higher quality.