First-ever infectious disease surveillance system launched in Ogun
The Ogun State Government has partnered with Artificial Intelligence Application for One Health, AIA4OneHealth, involving researchers from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, FUNAAB, to launch IDS-Master, the state’s first
The Ogun State Government has partnered with Artificial Intelligence Application for One Health, AIA4OneHealth, involving researchers from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, FUNAAB, to launch IDS-Master, the state's first artificial intelligence-powered infectious disease surveillance system.
The IDS-Master was launched in a ceremony held on Wednesday at the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre, PHEOC, in Abeokuta.
The initiative led by Prof. Adesina Sodiya, was described as a community-sensitive, intelligent event-based surveillance tool designed to detect and track infectious disease outbreaks across the state in real time.
Speaking at the launch, the state Commissioner for Health Dr. Tomi Coker, who officially unveiled the platform, expressed enthusiasm about its potential impact on public health.
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She said the system would transform how the state responds to health threats, adding that a tool of its kind could have significantly altered the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic had it been available earlier.
"Imagine if this AI was available just before COVID, would the world not be different? Would we not have had a different story?" she said.
She described IDS-Master as a product of collaboration between academia, the private sector, and the government, noting that disease outbreaks happen in communities, making community-level surveillance indispensable.
Prof. Sodiya, who leads the AIA4OneHealth team, said the platform would eliminate blind spots in infection tracking across Ogun State. "With IDS-Master, there will be no hidden space for infection in Ogun State," he said.
He also disclosed that the initiative has additional AI-powered health solutions in the pipeline, including a tool to improve connectivity between government and health facilities.
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The FUNAAB Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Babatunde Kehinde, was represented at the event by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development), Prof Olawale Dairo.
Delivering the VC's speech, Prof Dairo commended the fusion of academic research and government partnership that produced the system, describing it as a demonstration of how universities can serve not only as centres of knowledge but as drivers of practical solutions to societal challenges.
He expressed FUNAAB's continued commitment to the initiative and called for ongoing feedback to refine and improve the platform.
A representative of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, Mr Solape Folarin, also spoke at the event, congratulating the state and the AIA4OneHealth team on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health and its team lead, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate.
Mr Folarin linked the launch to the federal government's digital health transformation agenda, urging the team to explore partnerships under frameworks such as the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN, Commission to scale the solution across the region and beyond.
The AIA4OneHealth initiative, which began about 5 years ago, was developed entirely within Nigeria and is described by its creators as competitive with any surveillance solution globally.
Stakeholders at the event therefore expressed optimism that the model, if scaled through frameworks like the DAWN Commission, could extend its reach beyond Ogun State to the wider southwest region and eventually serve as a national template.
