Fairness-aware machine learning research for preventive healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa
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> *"Only 8 of 47 clinical AI studies reviewed included any fairness evaluation.*
> *Only 12 were conducted on African patient data.*
> *This research program exists to change that."*
I am **Edmund Eric Gah**, an AI researcher from Ghana building **fairness-aware machine learning systems** for early disease detection in underserved communities across sub-Saharan Africa.
Clinical AI has a blind spot. Tools that perform well on Western populations routinely fail the communities that need them most β and almost no one is measuring it. My work addresses this gap head-on: auditing algorithmic bias, building interpretable models, and publishing evidence that makes equitable deployment impossible to ignore.
**This is the Nexora AI for African Health Research Program.** Three papers in. Many more to come.
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## π¬ Research Pillars
**βοΈ Algorithmic Fairness**
Auditing ML performance disparities across sex, age, BMI, and cholesterol subgroups β before deployment, not after harm.
**π Explainable AI**
SHAP-based feature attribution that makes model predictions clinically interpretable β not black boxes that clinicians cannot trust.
**π« Preventive Detection**
Shifting the intervention point from crisis care to early warning for diabetes, CVD, and beyond.
**π Low-Resource Deployment**
Designing for the real constraints of clinical settings in emerging economies β not idealized Western labs.
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## π Published Papers
### `03` Β Systematic Review Β· Algorithmic Fairness in Clinical ML
**Algorithmic Fairness in Clinical Machine Learning for Non-Communicable Disease Prediction in Sub-Saharan Africa:**
*A Systematic Review, Empirical Analysis, and Research Agenda*
Β `May 2026` Β `PRISMA Protocol` Β `47 Studies Reviewed (2015β2026)`
| Finding | Statistic |
|:---|:---|
| Studies with any fairness evaluation | **8 / 47 β only 17.0%** |
| Studies using formal fairness metrics | **3 / 47 β only 6.4%** |
| Studies conducted on β¦