Building health resilience in Africa with Earth Intelligence

Over the past few years, the GEO Health Community of Practice (CoP) has significantly deepened its collaboration with regional partners to harness the power of Earth Intelligence to address pressing public health challenges.

At the heart of this effort lies a dynamic and growing partnership with AfriGEO, which has become a cornerstone for knowledge exchange and the co-development of decision-support tools across Africa.

The momentum began to build at GEO Week 2022 in Accra, Ghana, where the One Health concept was formally integrated into the GEO Work Programme. Health CoP members promoted the One Health concept through their invited panel talks on cholera forecasting, air quality monitoring, and heat mapping during the AfriGEO Symposium 2022.

This marked a pivotal moment, emphasizing the need for cross-sectoral collaboration to tackle the interconnected risks posed by environmental and health threats.

Since then, the GEO Health CoP has actively contributed to subsequent AfriGEO Symposia and GEO Weeks, using these platforms to showcase innovations in disease forecasting, early warning systems, and environmental surveillance.

At GEO Week 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa, the team unveiled a cholera prediction system – a participatory, Earth observation-based tool designed to provide near real-time intelligence on conditions conducive to water-borne disease outbreaks. This system empowers health authorities across Africa and beyond to anticipate and respond to cholera risks more effectively.

The work continued at GEO Week 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, where regional case studies and new partnerships were highlighted. Notably, collaborations with the UN Foundation and local health agencies have enabled pilot implementations of the cholera prediction system in high-risk areas, demonstrating its practical value on the ground.

A hallmark of the CoP’s engagement strategy has been the Special Edition teleconferences, co-organized with AfriGEO. These focused sessions bring together practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers from across the continent.

The 2022 edition featured 18 flash talks, while the 2025 edition included 15, covering topics such as air quality monitoring, water- and vector-borne diseases, heat mapping, health surveillance, and emergency response – fostering a vibrant community of practice and shared learning.

These collective efforts underscore a shared commitment to building regional capacity, amplifying African leadership, and ensuring that Earth intelligence is both accessible and actionable for health resilience.

As GEO transitions into its Post-2025 Strategy, the Health CoP remains steadfast in its mission to co-develop user-driven, regionally relevant solutions that address the evolving landscape of public health and environmental risk.