This is a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We work in partnership with the Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM) and colleagues at DHOs in Blantyre and Lilongwe.

DELIVERABLES

  1. Project Report.
  2. IntelSurv
  3. Public Health Datasets for ML tasks
  4. Zindi - Malawi Public Health Systems LLM Challenge

PRESS RELEASE

“Amelia Taylor of Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences in Malawi will employ Large Language Models (LLMs), including ChatGPT and MedPalm, to develop a tool to streamline the collection, analysis, and use of COVID-19 data. Collecting accurate and comprehensive data during a pandemic is critical for response efforts but the process is labor-intensive. During COVID-19 surveillance, there were also limited training materials available to explain specialized concepts for data collection to the multidisciplinary teams. Read more

DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP

The lab conducted a research workshop in which we presented the work and findings of the project “AI GRAND CHALLENGES – Practical AI Solutions for Malawi” was held at Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre on 28th March 2024 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.The theme was “Can Generative AI provide solutions for challenges faced in healthcare in Malawi?”. We reported on our work in experimenting with generative AI to provide self-directed access to knowledge for healthcare professionals in Malawi. Read more

BLOG POST

The response of Malawi to COVID-19 highlighted the significance of surveillance data in shaping effective disease control strategies. The current system involves gathering client data manually by district health workers using paper-based COVID-19 Case Based Surveillance (CBSR) forms. This information is consolidated in an Excel line list database submitted to the Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM). The shared data is further consolidated with other district data for public dissemination and disease response planning Read more

EXPERIENCE

In September 2022, the Public Health Institute of Malawi granted the INSPIRE PEACH project access to national COVID-19-line list data. The project aimed to harmonize population health data across diverse entities and was led locally by Dr Amelia Taylor of the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS). However, upon accessing the data, several discrepancies were discovered. Dr Amelia and I discussed the gaps in detail and in consultation with PHIM, developed qualitative research questions to investigate the COVID-19 data collection processes and reasons for discrepancies at District Health Offices (DHO). Read more