Sustainable Development & Global Health Equity

For Prof. Jude Kong, this work is deeply personal. Growing up in a village in Cameroon with no hospital and no local doctors, he witnessed firsthand the cost of being left out of health systems. That experience drives AIMMLab's commitment to building AI and mathematical tools that work for the communities they serve not just for institutions that can afford them.

Through AIMMLab, ACADIC, and the AI4PEP Network, Prof. Kong and his team are deploying responsible AI solutions across the Global South from early paralysis detection tools in Ethiopia to fake news detection systems in Brazil and mosquito surveillance technology in Ghana. Supported by $2.15M in IDRC/FCDO funding, these initiatives are designed for scale, sustainability, and genuine community partnership across 21+ countries.

"Can I create proactive tools that would have saved my relatives that died from malaria when I was growing up? I always thought about my village but I'm really happy that I'm able to do it now for the entire Global South."

Prof. Jude Kong, Director, AIMMLab & AI4PEP

Key Focus Areas

AI for the Sustainable Development Goals

Applying AI and mathematical modelling to monitor, analyse, and accelerate progress on health-related SDGs including universal health coverage, pandemic preparedness, climate adaptation, and equitable access to diagnostics and care across LMICs.

The Africa–Canada Partnership

Through ACADIC and AI4PEP, AIMMLab builds equitable, reciprocal data-sharing and innovation collaborations with partners across Africa uplifting local research capacity while advancing shared global knowledge goals. This is not extractive science; it is co-creation.

Responsible AI Governance

AIMMLab has published frameworks for trustworthy and inclusive AI governance in Africa, proposing principles for data sovereignty, human rights alignment, and community-centred policy design. This work directly informs how African governments and institutions approach AI regulation and adoption.

Research Translation & Deployment

Bridging academic insight and real-world impact by transforming technical findings into deployed tools, dashboards, and policy guidelines used by governments, communities, hospitals, and NGOs across Africa, Canada, and beyond. Translation is not an afterthought; it is built into every project from the start.

AIMMLab Sustainable Development Impact Pathway Flow from AIMMLab research through global partnerships to SDG-aligned health outcomes. AIMMLab Research AI + mathematical models ACADIC & AI4PEP Network 21+ country partnerships Deployed Tools Ethiopia · Brazil · Ghana & beyond SDG-Aligned Health Outcomes Equity · Preparedness · Access

Figure: From AIMMLab's foundational research to SDG-aligned global health impact — via ACADIC, AI4PEP, and deployed tools across the Global South.

Outcomes

  • Deployed AI solutions in disease surveillance, diagnostics, and public health outreach actively in use by governments and communities across Africa and beyond.
  • Scalable, sustainable research partnerships with institutions in 21+ countries, grounded in equity and reciprocity rather than extraction.
  • Published governance frameworks guiding trustworthy, human-rights-aligned AI and data policy in African contexts.
  • Research translated into accessible tools and policy briefs that directly inform governments, NGOs, and health systems working toward the SDGs.