Category: MIL-OSI

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Songbo Hu, PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge

Language technologies like generative artificial intelligence (AI) hold significant potential for public health. From outbreak detection systems that scan global news in real time, to chatbots providing mental health support and conversational diagnostic tools improving access to primary care, these innovations are helping address health challenges.

At the heart of these developments is natural language processing, an interdisciplinary field within AI research. It enables computers to interpret, understand and generate human language, bridging the gap between humans and machines. Natural language processing can process and analyse enormous volumes of health data, far more than humans could ever handle manually. This is especially valuable in regions with a stretched healthcare workforce or limited public health surveillance infrastructure, because it enables faster, data-driven responses to public health needs.

Recently, our interdisciplinary team, combining expertise from computer science, human geography and health sciences, conducted a review of studies on how language AI is being used for public health in African countries. Almost a decade’s worth of academic research was analysed, to understand how this powerful technology is being applied to pressing human needs.

Out of 54 research publications, we found that evidence of real-world effects of the technology was still rare. Only 4% of these studies (two out of 54) showed measurable improvements in public health, such as boosting people’s mood or increasing vaccine intentions.

Most projects stop at technology development and publication. Very few advance to real-world use or impact. Opportunities to improve health and well-being across the continent could be missed as a result.

Current limitations

In recent years, AI language technologies for public health have increased rapidly. This wave of technology development really took off as the COVID-19 pandemic renewed attention to public health. Health chatbots and sentiment analysis tools were developed in Africa and beyond.

Health chatbots “talk” to people and provide reliable health information in a friendly, conversational way. Sentiment analysis tools scan social media posts to understand what people are feeling and talking about. Together they can identify misinformation or changes in public opinion and then provide accurate information.

Of course, new technologies come with imperfections. We found that most technologies for public health in Africa exist in just a few languages whose dominance can be traced to colonial times, namely English and French.

The consequences are clear: key health messages fail to reach many communities, leaving millions unable to access or act on essential information.

We also found that few projects have gone beyond the laboratory development stage. Our study found only one system in operation that had a measurable public health effect.

A successful model

This standout example comes from a team at the Center for Global Development and the University of Chicago, in partnership with the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics. Their chatbot, deployed on Facebook Messenger, was designed for people in Kenya and Nigeria who were hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines. It was only available in English.

More than 22,000 social media users used this app, sharing vaccine-related questions and concerns. The chatbot provided tailored, evidence-based responses to topics ranging from vaccine effectiveness and safety to misinformation. Its effect was notable. The intervention boosted users’ intention and willingness to get vaccinated by 4%-5%. The strongest effects were seen among those most hesitant to begin with.

Behind this success was the researchers’ commitment to understanding the local context. Before launching the chatbot, in-depth discussions were held with focus groups and social media users in Kenya and Nigeria. The aim was to learn about the specific worries and cultural factors shaping attitudes toward vaccination.

The chatbot was designed to address these concerns. This user-centred, locally adapted approach enabled the chatbot’s messages to address real barriers. As this example demonstrates, language technologies for public health are most effective when responding to the concerns and needs of the intended users.

From lab to life

These technologies take time and money to be put into practice. The COVID-19 pandemic jump-started development but public health language AI technologies are very new. It could be that a future survey would find a very different situation.

At the same time, advances in large language models such as GPT-4 are rapidly lowering the technical barriers to developing language technologies. These models can often be adapted to new applications with far less data and effort than previous methods. Recent advances could enable small teams of researchers or even individual developers to build tools tailored to the specific needs of their own communities. The path from lab to real-world effects may become much shorter and easier.

Investors, accelerators and state support could help make this transition from lab to life happen.

Technology developers can also contribute by rooting their work in community-driven, multi-disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration. Social science and public health research knowledge and skills can inform the design and development of new technologies.

To maximise the potential of language technologies for public health, the following needs to happen:

• involving communities and health workers in natural language processing design

• expanding provision in indigenous African languages

• integrating language technologies into existing health systems.

Future research and development must move beyond technical prototypes and laboratory tests to rigorous real-world evaluations that measure health outcomes.

The other co-authors behind this research are: Abigail Oppong, Ebele Mogo, Charlotte Collins, and Giulia Occhini.

– AI chatbots can boost public health in Africa – why language inclusion matters
– https://theconversation.com/ai-chatbots-can-boost-public-health-in-africa-why-language-inclusion-matters-260861

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Fidele B. Ebia, Postdoctoral fellow, Duke Africa Initiative, Duke University

The manufacturing of African print textiles has shifted to China in the 21st century. While they are widely consumed in African countries – and symbolic of the continent – the rise of “made in China” has undermined the African women traders who have long shaped the retail and distribution of this cloth.

For many decades Vlisco, the Dutch textile group which traces its origins to 1846 and whose products had been supplied to west Africa by European trading houses since the late 19th century, dominated manufacture of the cloth. But in the last 25 years dozens of factories in China have begun to supply African print textiles to west African markets. Qingdao Phoenix Hitarget Ltd, Sanhe Linqing Textile Group and Waxhaux Ltd are among the best known.

We conducted research to establish how the rise of Chinese-made cloth has affected the African print textiles trade. We focused on Togo. Though it’s a tiny country with a population of only 9.7 million, the capital city, Lomé, is the trading hub in west Africa for the textiles.

We conducted over 100 interviews with traders, street sellers, port agents or brokers, government officials and representatives of manufacturing companies to learn about how their activities have changed.

“Made in China” African print textiles are substantially cheaper and more accessible to a wider population than Vlisco fabric. Our market observations in Lomé’s famous Assigamé market found that Chinese African print textiles cost about 9,000 CFA (US$16) for six yards – one complete outfit. Wax Hollandais (50,000 CFA or US$87) cost over five times more.

Data is hard to come by, but our estimates suggest that 90% of imports of these textiles to Lomé port in 2019 came from China.

One Togolese trader summed up the attraction:

Who could resist a cloth that looked similar, but that cost much less than real Vlisco?

Our research shows how the rise of China manufactured cloth has undermined Vlisco’s once dominant market share as well as the monopoly on the trade of Dutch African print textiles that Togolese traders once enjoyed.

The traders, known as Nana-Benz because of the expensive cars they drove, once enjoyed an economic and political significance disproportionate to their small numbers. Their political influence was such that they were key backers of Togo’s first president, Sylvanus Olympio – himself a former director of the United Africa Company, which distributed Dutch cloth.

In turn, Olympio and long-term leader General Gnassingbé Eyadéma provided policy favours – such as low taxes – to support trading activity. In the 1970s, African print textile trade was considered as significant as the phosphate industry – the country’s primary export.

Nana-Benz have since been displaced – their numbers falling from 50 to about 20. Newer Togolese traders – known as Nanettes or “little Nanas” – have taken their place. While they have carved out a niche in mediating the textiles trade with China, they have lower economic and political stature. In turn, they too are increasingly threatened by Chinese competition, more recently within trading and distribution as well.

China displaces the Dutch

Dating back to the colonial period, African women traders have played essential roles in the wholesale and distribution of Dutch cloth in west African markets. As many countries in the region attained independence from the 1950s onwards, Grand Marché – or Assigamé – in Lomé became the hub for African print textile trade.

While neighbouring countries such as Ghana limited imports as part of efforts to promote domestic industrialisation, Togolese traders secured favourable conditions. These included low taxes and use of the port.

Togolese women traders knew the taste of predominantly female, west African customers better than their mostly male, Dutch designers. The Nana-Benz were brought into the African print textile production and design process, selecting patterns and giving names to designs they knew would sell.

They acquired such wealth from this trade that they earned the Nana-Benz nickname from the cars they purchased and which they used to collect and move merchandise.

Nana-Benz exclusivity of trading and retailing of African print textiles cloth in west African markets has been disrupted. As Vlisco has responded to falling revenues – over 30% in the first five years of the 21st century – due to its Chinese competition, Togolese traders’ role in the supply chain of Dutch cloth has been downgraded.

In response to the flood of Chinese imports, the Dutch manufacturer re-positioned itself as a luxury fashion brand and placed greater focus on the marketing and distribution of the textiles.

Vlisco has opened several boutique stores in west and central Africa, starting with Cotonou (2008), Lomé (2008) and Abidjan (2009). The surviving Nana-Benz – an estimated 20 of the original 50 – operate under contract as retailers rather than traders and must follow strict rules of sale and pricing.

While newer Togolese traders known as Nanettes are involved in the sourcing of textiles from China, they have lower economic and political stature. Up to 60 are involved in the trade.

Former street sellers of textiles and other petty commodities, Nanettes began travelling to China in the early to mid-2000s to source African print textiles. They are involved in commissioning and advising on the manufacturing of African print textiles in China and the distribution in Africa.

While many Nanettes order the common Chinese brands, some own and market their own. These include what are now well-known designs in Lomé and west Africa such as “Femme de Caractère”, “Binta”, “Prestige”, “Rebecca Wax”, “GMG” and “Homeland”.

Compared to their Nana-Benz predecessors, the Nanettes carve out their business from the smaller pie available from the sale of cheaper Chinese cloth. Though the volumes traded are large, the margins are smaller due to the much lower final retail price compared to Dutch cloth.

After procuring African print textiles from China, Nanettes sell wholesale to independent local traders or “sellers” as well as traders from neighbouring countries. These sellers in turn break down the bulk they have purchased and sell it in smaller quantities to independent street vendors.

All African print textiles from China arrive in west Africa as an incomplete product – as six-yard or 12-yard segments of cloth, not as finished garments. Local tailors and seamstresses then make clothes according to consumer taste. Some fashion designers have also opened shops where they sell prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) garments made from bolts of African print and tailored to local taste. Thus, even though the monopoly of the Nana-Benz has been eroded, value is still added and captured locally.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese actors have become more involved in trading activity – and not just manufacturing. The further evolution of Chinese presence risks an even greater marginalisation of locals, already excluded from manufacturing, from the trading and distribution end of the value chain. Maintaining their role – tailoring products to local culture and trends and linking the formal and informal economy – is vital not just for Togolese traders, but also the wider economy.

– Togo’s ‘Nana-Benz’: how cheap Chinese imports of African fabrics has hurt the famous women traders
– https://theconversation.com/togos-nana-benz-how-cheap-chinese-imports-of-african-fabrics-has-hurt-the-famous-women-traders-260924