Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State has secured a 5 million euros grant to develop an AI-powered microscope for diagnosing parasitic diseases.

This is contained in a statement by the Director of Public Affairs, Directorate of the university, Malam Auwalu Umar, on Monday in Zaria.

Umar said that the microscope would be able to detect diseases such as African trypanosomiasis, malaria, leishmaniasis, and filariasis.

He said that the grant was won through MultiplexAI, the first Horizon Euro-funded project to be hosted at ABU’s Africa Centre of Excellence for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology (ACENTDFB).

Read Also: Court stops EFCC from arresting businessman over alleged $1.9m money laundering charges

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, congratulated ACENTDFB on the feat.

Ahmed also commended Dr Gloria-Dada Chechet, the Scientific Project Leader of the MultiplexAI project, for the great role she played in securing the grant.

According to the statement, the MultiplexAI project was designed for use in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

It said that the tool also enables health workers to accurately detect multiple infections at the point of care, using only a microscope, smartphone, and app.