Harnessing AI for Traditional Medicine: Insights from Africa
Harnessing AI for Traditional Medicine: Insights from Africa
At the AI for Good Global Summit, WHO, ITU, and WIPO launched a roadmap on how AI is revolutionizing traditional medicine while protecting cultural heritage and data sovereignty.
Here are examples from South Africa, Ghana, and the DRC:
Rooibos Genomics Programme
Using AI and machine learning, scientists:
- sequenced the rooibos genome,
- identified genes linked to medicinal compounds,
- analyzed drought tolerance,
- developed neural networks to predict novel plant protein functions.
Medicinal Plant Identification
Researchers used Log Gabor filters (mimicking the human visual cortex) to
- extract leaf texture features,
- achieving up to 98% accuracy in classifying medicinal plants,
- paving the way for deep learning models in plant identification.
Validating Traditional Influenza Remedies
AI-driven molecular modeling
- validated the potential efficacy of Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) and Ocimum gratissimum (African basil) for influenza treatment,
- showing stable compound-receptor interactions and supporting their integration into modern care.
AI-generated image
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