Mbarara University of Science and Technology recently hosted a key stakeholder engagement meeting for the “Dialogues of Delivery” project, an ambitious initiative aimed at leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve maternal and child health outcomes in East Africa. The project seeks to address the critical challenge of low antenatal visit attendance rates in Uganda, with less than 60% of women meeting World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.

The meeting brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including healthcare providers, community leaders, researchers, and technology experts. Dr. Fred Kaggwa, a key figure in the project, emphasized the critical need for improved antenatal care and highlighted the significant gap in access to reliable health information for pregnant women. He shared the project’s objectives, the current progress, achievements and challenges
Dr. Kimera Richard, a leading researcher on the project, presented technical updates, outlining the progress made in training the Large Language Model (LLM) at the core of the initiative. He discussed the innovative data collection methods, including the use of both mobile and web-based tools, to gather high-quality medical datasets in Swahili, Runyankore-Rukiga, and Luganda. Dr. Richard also showcased early demonstrations of the LLM’s capabilities, demonstrating its potential to provide accurate and personalized health information to pregnant women in their preferred languages.


A key highlight of the meeting was a panel session moderated by Angella Nakato Muyingo, the University Communications Officer. The esteemed panel comprised Assoc. Prof. Ngonzi Joseph, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Co-PI of the project, Sr. Aelxa Namuli an oncologist nurse, Sr. Prossy Nabulo a senor midwife, Dr. Richard Kimera, and Ms. Agatha Nshabohurira , the Assistant District Health Officer of Mbarara. The panel provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities presented by integrating AI into maternal healthcare delivery. This session facilitated the future plans of the project, stakeholders’ Ideas to fine-tune the project, as well as insights of the sustainability strategies of the project.
Associate Professor Joseph Ngonzi , Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Co-PI of the project, emphasized the transformative potential of AI in healthcare. “As doctors, we may not always have the time to answer all of our patients’ questions,” he stated. “AI can help us address these queries and empower our clients with information, enabling mothers to be better prepared for the challenges they may face during pregnancy and postpartum.” He added that s health workers they need to have more information and up-to date because patients will be speaking from an informed point of view.

A lively feedback and discussion session followed, where stakeholders provided valuable insights on the project’s usability and its relevance within the local context. Questionnaires were administered during the live session to gather direct feedback from participants.
This groundbreaking project exemplifies MUST commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to address critical public health challenges in East Africa. By developing and deploying an AI-powered solution that provides accessible and reliable health information in local languages, the “Dialogues of Delivery” project has the potential to significantly improve maternal and child health outcomes in the region.
We extend our gratitude to the Science for Africa Foundation for their visionary funding, which has been instrumental in driving the “Dialogues of Delivery” project forward. Their contributions are paving the way for a transformative impact on maternal and child health outcomes in the region.
We acknowledge our partners from MIT (USA) and Handong Global University (South Korea) whose efforts have enriched the project through enhancing its technical capabilities and relevance to local needs.