AI to Power Solutions for Drought: Global NGO AMR

February 10, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

With support from Microsoft, researchers from the University of California are developing an AI tool to help communities prepare for crop failures and combat malnutrition, particularly in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, where drought is a persistent issue. The 2023 drought in the Horn of Africa significantly affected Kenya, highlighting the urgent need for such solutions.

AI tools can find a lasting solution to floods, drought and similar natural calamities. Science says that it is possible. Researchers from the University of California, with support from Microsoft, are developing an AI tool which aims to help communities prepare for crop failures and prevent cases of malnutrition. Drought is a perennial factor for Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly for countries in the Horn of Africa. The 2023 drought in the Horn of Africa seriously impacted Kenya.

AMREF Health Africa is a Kenyan-based non-governmental organization focused on providing community and environmental healthcare to countries in Africa. It is considered one of the leading health NGOs in Africa.

According to the UN’s World Food Programme, 4.4 million people are affected by acute food insecurity and approximately 1.1 million women and children are facing acute malnutrition”.

Researchers have collected detailed weather patterns and NASA satellite imagery showing vegetation and clinical health records from the past ten years to create computational models which can predict areas of food insecurity. The software is driven by A1-simulated programs and matrices.

According to AMREF this tool has been trialled in Kenya since February last year and results show its predictions are accurate over 3 -6 months although figures for this aren’t yet available.

AMREF hopes that by alerting communities they can better prepare for food shortages. The focus has been on six northern and eastern counties which are prone to drought, but now AMREF says its model now covers the country as a whole.

In the future, AMREF hopes to feed in information gathered at a community level, which it hopes will be more accurate. County officials will also be able to prepare for food insecurity. With the new technology that is brought on board, it will be able to predict the number of cases at the facility level for 3 months or 6 months and mobilise the resources beforehand.