Abstract
A conceptual artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled framework is presented in this study involving triangulation of various diagnostic methods for management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its associated comorbidities in resource-limited settings (RLS). The proposed AI-enabled framework will afford capabilities to harness low-cost polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular diagnostics, radiological image-based assessments, and end-user provided information for the detection of COVID-19 cases and management of symptomatic patients. It will support self-data capture, clinical risk stratification, explanation-based intelligent recommendations for patient triage, disease diagnosis, patient treatment, contact tracing, and case management. This will enable communication with end-users in local languages through cheap and accessible means, such as WhatsApp/Telegram, social media, and SMS, with careful consideration of the need for personal data protection. The objective of the AI-enabled framework is to leverage multimodal diagnostics of COVID-19 and associated comorbidities in RLS for the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 cases and general support for pandemic recovery. We intend to test the feasibility of implementing the proposed framework through community engagement in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries where many people are living with pre-existing comorbidities. A multimodal approach to disease diagnostics enabling access to point-of-care testing is required to reduce fragmentation of essential services across the continuum of COVID-19 care.
Highlights
Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have been affected by the novel coronavirus2019 (COVID-19) infection with severe impacts on the people, health systems, and their economies
South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria are the countries with the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases in sub-Saharan African (SSA) [2]
HIV remains prevalent in the population with approximately 20% of people infected with HIV
Summary
Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have been affected by the novel coronavirus2019 (COVID-19) infection with severe impacts on the people, health systems, and their economies. Many cases of COVID-19 in SSA countries have associated comorbidities such as tuberculosis (TB), HIV/AIDS, diabetes, hypertension, and malaria. South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria are the countries with the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases in SSA [2]. These countries have a large population of persons with comorbidities such as HIV, TB, and diabetes. In terms of absolute numbers, South Africa has 7.7 million people living with HIV, the highest number in the world. With 1.9 million people living with HIV, has the fourth-largest HIV epidemic in the world in term of absolute numbers. Nigeria has the fourth-largest TB epidemic in the world, with cases of HIV/TB co-infection on the rise. An estimated 407,000 die of TB each year in Nigeria, out of which an estimated 39,000 are HIV positive people [4]
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