Google gives Nigerian health-tech firm $2.5m for maternal care AI

Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu (center), with Google Director for West and East Africa, Olumide Balogun, Helium Health Co-founder and CEO, Dimeji Sofowora, and members of the joint Google and Helium Health delegation during an executive briefing at Lagos House, Marina, introducing the Google.org-supported HeliumMum AI maternal healthcare rollout.

Project targets 1.9m women in four states

By Juliet Umeh

Google has awarded Nigerian health technology company, Helium Health, a $2.5 million (about N3.4 billion) grant to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) tools aimed at improving maternal healthcare in Nigeria.

The company was the only Nigerian organisation among 15 global recipients selected for the $30 million Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation, an initiative supporting organisations using technology to improve public services in partnership with governments.

The Nigerian project was unveiled in Lagos during an executive briefing with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, led by executives of Google and Helium Health.

The initiative will be implemented in Lagos, Delta, Kano and Oyo states, with Lagos serving as its primary launchpad.

The selected organisations will also participate in a Google.org accelerator programme, where they will receive technical support from Google engineers and artificial intelligence product experts.

Speaking on the grant, Helium Health Chief Executive Officer, Dimeji Sofowora, said the company had spent the past decade developing technology and partnerships to improve healthcare delivery across Africa.

He said its maternal health initiatives had already reached more than 3.5 million women, adding that the Google.org support would enable the company to expand its interventions and extend access to quality maternal healthcare.

“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,” he said.

The company’s Head of Public Health, Dr Shona Oluwatola, said the project aims to reach an additional 1.9 million women over three years and contribute to a 30 per cent reduction in maternal mortality.

She noted that Nigeria accounts for nearly three in every 10 maternal deaths globally, stressing the need for interventions that would help women identify pregnancy-related risks early and access timely medical attention.

“Nigeria accounts for nearly three in every 10 maternal deaths globally. Behind every maternal death is a woman whose family expected her to come home,” Oluwatola said.

“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,” she added.

The project will deploy Helium Health’s HeliumMum platform to help pregnant women identify potential health risks early and access appropriate medical care.

The platform will connect pregnant women with healthcare providers through electronic medical records and AI-powered clinical decision-support tools, while providing governments with data to guide maternal health policies and service delivery.

Google.org Global Head, Maggie Johnson, said artificial intelligence could significantly improve public services but noted that a gap remained between the technology’s potential and its practical application.

She said the grant and technical support from Google’s AI experts would empower the selected organisations to develop solutions to pressing challenges in their communities.

“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,” she said.

Johnson added that the initiative was designed to ensure that artificial intelligence delivers tangible benefits to communities worldwide.