Helium Health Wins $2.5m Google Grant to Use AI Against Maternal Deaths in Nigeria

Nigerian healthtech company Helium Health has received a $2.5 million (about N3.4 billion) grant from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, to use artificial intelligence to reduce maternal deaths.

Helium Health is the only Nigerian organization among 15 recipients of Google.org’s $30 million Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation. The plan was presented to Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at Lagos House.

What the money will do

The grant will expand HeliumMum, the company’s maternal health program. It links pregnant women to health workers through electronic medical records and uses AI decision-support tools to flag risks early. The goal is to help community health workers and primary health centers spot complications sooner, refer women to care faster, and give governments better data.

The program will start in Lagos and expand to Delta, Kano and Oyo. It aims to reach 1.9 million more pregnant women over three years and cut maternal deaths by 30 percent.

“Behind every maternal death is a woman whose family expected her to come home,” said Dr Shona Oluwatola, Helium Health’s Head of Public Health.

CEO Dimeji Sofowora said the company’s maternal health work has already reached more than 3.5 million women.

“We are empowering the people closest to the problem to show what is truly possible,” said Maggie Johnson, Global Head of Google.org.

Why it matters

Nigeria accounts for nearly 30 percent of maternal deaths worldwide. Many happen because danger signs, such as high blood pressure or heavy bleeding, are missed or care comes too late.

AI can help a health worker notice a warning sign. It cannot replace the midwife, the working ambulance or the blood bank a woman needs once that sign is spotted. Whether the program succeeds will depend on those links in the chain as much as on the software.