The ACHE Project is officially launched at the Morogoro Municipality Offices
The Tanzania Climate Sensitive Waterborne Diseases Dataset for Predictive Machine Learning (ACHE Project) conducted its inception meeting at Morogoro Municipality on 31st July 2023. The project aims to collect data that will be used to predict climate-sensitive waterborne infectious disease outbreaks such as Ameobiasis, Diarrhea, and Typhoid, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.
Dr. Neema Lyimo presenting
The project is being implemented by researchers from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), College of Natural and Applied Sciences in collaboration with a researcher from Morogoro Municipality.
“We are delighted to see our researchers tackling challenges and investing in various health-related areas. This research will help get data for various health matters,” said Mr. Ali Machela, Morogoro Municipal Director, during the project’s introduction at his office.
Mr. Machela, the Morogoro Municipal Director, listening attentively to the presentation.
The project’s principal investigator (PI), Dr. Neema N. Lyimo, explained that it will serve as a solution to gather data on the causes of waterborne infectious diseases such as typhoid, amoeba, and diarrhea, and use AI to predict the possibility of disease outbreaks resulting from the effects of climate change. Dr. Lyimo pointed out that climate change has led to many disease outbreaks, and thus, this data collection and AI system will facilitate getting comprehensive information about these diseases, enabling relevant authorities to prepare and take timely preventive measures or provide early warnings to the public before outbreaks occur.
“Our country has been facing the impacts of climate change, and as experts, we recognized the importance of conducting research to collect information about waterborne infectious diseases, especially during this era of climate change,” stated Dr. Lyimo.
Members engaging in asking questions
Other SUA researchers from SUA are Dr. Silvia Materu, Dr. Joseph Telemala, and Dr. Kadeghe Fue. Another participant in the project is Dr. Ndimile Kilatu from Morogoro Municipality.
The project’s launch was attended by Dr. Charles Mkombachepa (Head of Health, Social welfare, and Nutrition Services Division of Morogoro Municipality), Martin Mzuwanda (Acting Municipal Health Officer of Morogoro Municipality), and Hezron Ligala (Coordinator of Sanitation Information (NSIMS) of Morogoro Municipality).
