4th IR Technology for Global Health and Development

The 4th industrial revolution is here. Artificial intelligence, IoT, and blockchain are transforming global health and development. In alignment with sustainable development Goal, 3 and 8 increasing economic inclusion translates into good health and wellbeing for all. Application of AI, BC and IoT technology can be applied across epidemiological data governance, healthcare financing and medical supply chains.

AI and BC technologies will change healthcare delivery systems accelerating the opportunity for disruption in information value chains in epidemiology, health finance, and pharmaceutical supply chains. BC enables the capacity to decentralize control of information structures, asset exchanges and immutability in these digital transactions. In tandem with AI, this allows for the empowerment of the data residing in these digital transactions to create value within the specified domains without human intervention.

Epidemiology is the complex interaction of genetic, behavioral and environmental factors of human populations that influence disease progression at the nexus of public policy and biological sciences[10]. To date, early adopters, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Artificial Intelligence in Medical Epidemiology (AIME) have utilized these technologies. Using AI, AIME was able to predict the spread of Zika and Dengue Fever in Brazil prior to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games with 86.73% accuracy, based upon multi-variable (e.g. mosquito hotspots, prior infection nodes) geolocation data mapping. Similarly, chief software technologist Jim Nasr and his team at the CDC have identified the potential for BC technology in proof of concept stage work. BC and AI while informing how a disease spreads through a population can also inform about the appropriateness of medicines used in treatment. For example, tracking antibiotic resistance profiles in patients and the associated enzymatic expression profile. At present New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase is a resistance profile that is mediating global resistance to carbapenem, sulfonamides, macrolide and aminoglycoside antibiotics. Centralising lab-based pathology resistance profiles, in tandem with clinical presentation times in hospitals can consolidate epidemiological surveillance globally in a more timely and efficient manner. This informs antimicrobial stewardship at a local, state, national, and international levels transcending borders that previously required extensive international cooperation. When considering issues of epidemiology, it is further critical to understand how medicines can become accessible, enabled by BC and AI to at-risk populations.

BC and AI technologies have the potential to revolutionize medicines supply chains. The proliferation of counterfeit drugs, innovative vaccines, digital prescriptions, changing regulatory environments, highly complex personalized medicines schedules and supply chain inefficiencies present a tremendous opportunity to improve quality of life and reduce rates of death. For example, when considering vaccine cold-chains, BC and AI enable an end to end approach

ensuring traceability in quality/efficacy of medicines and informs rates of consumption of vaccines in time-dependent populations. For example, rates of Hepatitis B, Rotavirus and Polio vaccine consumption, and adherence informs health policy and epidemiological mapping of communicable disease among postpartum children in the African continent. For example recently in Nigeria, McKinsey and Co. in collaboration with the Nigerian government re-designed the vaccine supply chain to enable immunization of 7.5 million children. Integration of AI and BC technology into the future would prevent stockouts of crucial antigens below minimum levels required in local inventories across primary, secondary and tertiary settings without the need to human logistician, thus reducing human capital costs in the supply chain [30]. Enabling a versatile and robust cold chain is critical to the health of pediatric populations and their overall economy of Nigeria going forward. Africa yields tremendous opportunity for AI and BC technology in implementing healthcare solutions but also in financing these initiatives.

Healthcare financing dictates the ability to respond to a health need, pool financial risk and assure equitable and efficient financing mechanisms that enable the establishment of healthcare infrastructure. BC and AI have the capacity to influence funding efficiency by linking expenditures to direct infrastructure/information requirements during an epidemiological crisis. Further ensuring public funds are expended in an accountable and transparent manner allows for preparedness in mobilizing monies for effective resource allocation to meet international preparedness standards. Finally, information disseminated via the BC eliminates chances of fraud or malpractice and dependence on any third party.

Mobile technology in developing countries is ubiquitous making it a critical social and commercial instrument. At present, there are nearly two billion people who are deprived of basic financial services due to corruption, limited infrastructure, and economic inequalities. AI and BC technology enable a more global and inclusive economy, ‘banking the unbanked’ allowing individuals to participate in the economy and capture value, given zero transaction fees and ease of micropayments. This is made possible through cryptographic currencies such as MicroMoney and Everex which are anchored on AI and BC technology. These technologies extend the economic capacities of an individual to operate in the globalized free market economy through micro-lending, direct vendor payments, instantaneous money transfer and currency exchange. Extending the economic rights of an individual through participation in the free-market enables a reduction in poverty, inextricably tied to societal health outcomes.AI and BC permits this process fixing flaws in credit and capital structures that have transpired from relational banking methodologies giving consideration to socio-cultural, behavioral, quantitative, and qualitative parameters to inform credit scoring. Overall the centrality, immutability, transparency, and accountability of shared data during epidemics is the void that AI and BC technologies can fill, ensuring rapid data sharing in a timely and efficient manner to critical decision making parties. With due consideration of the ethical issues of data privacy, sovereignty, fraud, and abuse, a frictionless BC enabled data business model can be created with the account from multiple-stakeholders driving improved data-driven insights using AI across epidemiology, medicines supply chain, and health finance.

 

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