Nigerian health tech startup, Helium Health, has received a $2.5 million (around NGN 3.4 billion) grant from Google.org to deploy clinical AI models into primary maternal healthcare.
It was selected as the only Nigerian organisation among 15 global recipients in the $30 million Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation, which supports organisations partnering with governments to improve public services.
Alongside this funding to deploy clinical AI models into primary maternal healthcare, the cohort will participate in a dedicated Google.org Accelerator to receive support from Google engineers and AI product experts.
The Nigerian rollout and implementation roadmap for the initiative were formally presented in Lagos during a joint executive briefing with the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, led by executives from Google and Helium Health. Spanning Lagos, Delta, Kano, and Oyo States, the deployment establishes Lagos State as its primary operational launchpad, aligning with the state’s push to modernize primary healthcare delivery and digital innovation.
“For the past decade, Helium Health has been building the technology and partnerships needed to improve healthcare delivery across Africa. Through our maternal health initiatives, we’ve already reached over 3.5 million women, and Google.org’s support gives us an opportunity to build on that foundation, scale what works, and reach even more women with quality maternal healthcare,” said Dimeji Sofowora, CEO of Helium Health.
“Nigeria accounts for nearly three in every ten maternal deaths globally. Behind every maternal death is a woman whose family expected her to come home. Our goal is to reach an additional 1.9 million women over three years and contribute to a 30% reduction in maternal mortality. Ultimately, we want to ensure that no woman loses her life simply because she didn’t know she was at risk or couldn’t access the care she needed,” added Dr Shona Oluwatola, Head of Public Health at Helium Health.
“AI holds incredible potential to transform public services, but there is often a gap between promise and practice,” said Maggie Johnson, Global Head of Google.org.
“By equipping the 15 selected organisations with funding and pro bono support from Google’s own AI experts, we are empowering the people closest to the problem to show what is truly possible. Together, we can ensure that AI makes a profound, positive difference in the everyday lives of communities worldwide.”
With this support, HeliumMum is leveraging AI to help pregnant women identify pregnancy risks early and access appropriate care, seamlessly connecting them with healthcare providers equipped with electronic medical records and AI-powered clinical decision support to deliver quality maternal healthcare, while giving governments actionable data to strengthen maternal health services and improve outcomes.
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