Prof. Samuel Kojo Kwofie
Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Ghana, Prof. Samuel Kojo Kwofie, has called on the government, corporate institutions, and funding agencies to invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) training, research, and technology development to improve health and alleviate poverty.
He made this appeal during a virtual session hosted under the auspices of the US Embassy Ghana, in collaboration with American Spaces and Mobile Web Ghana, on the role of artificial intelligence in health and poverty alleviation.
He stated that AI has the potential to reduce the gap in healthcare between urban and rural communities
Prof. Kwofie who doubles as a Bioinformatician at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana, in his remarks, demystified AI, explaining its core concepts and burgeoning role in health.
He highlighted key issues from his research and publications on AI and health to buttress these assertions.
According to him, the research group he leads has blended AI and big biomedical data to develop various open-source applications including TubPred and EBOLApred. EBOLApred and TubPred support the discovery of potential drugs for Ebola virus disease and cancer, respectively.
Another significant innovation discussed was BuDb, the first drug discovery database for Buruliulcer. Together with his collaborators including Prof. Michael Wilson at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and others at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, they have successfully filed for a patent application for Mycolactone as a potential COVID-19 drug.
His team’s ongoing research also involves developing applications for regenerative AI and diagnosis using medical images.
Prof. Samuel Kojo Kwofie candidly addressed the significant challenges facing AI adoption in Africa and its role in health. These include limited infrastructure, electricity, and internet connectivity, as well as issues with data availability, bias, quality, and governance in resource-constrained settings.
He underscored the need for culturally and contextually adapted AI solutions, considering Africa’s diverse linguistic landscape and varying levels of digital literacy.