Ssenkima Ashiraf

Some time ago I visited Mulago Hospital. 🏥

I saw how much people are suffering from diseases that have been with us for generations. I left with one question I still can't shake:

In one lifetime, engineers built computers that now talk and reason almost like humans. Why are we still losing so many people to diseases we have known for decades?

Here's part of the answer: research follows money.

Much of the world's health research money goes to diseases that affect wealthier countries, because that's where the biggest markets are. Diseases that mostly affect poorer communities, many of them here in Africa, often get far less attention. Researchers call some of them "neglected diseases".

It's not that doctors and scientists don't care. Many give their whole lives to this work. It's that the system rewards some problems more than others.

We've seen local innovation change a sector before. Uganda now has electric mobility companies like Kiira Motors and Spiro. Nobody thought we would build those here.

Health can be next. 💡

Imagine young engineers, data scientists and doctors in Uganda working together, using AI to study our own diseases, with our own data, for our own people.

The cure for Africa's diseases may not come from somewhere else. It may come from us.

Who else believes Africa should lead its own health research? 👇

#HealthResearch #Uganda #Africa #Innovation #AIforGood