The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Health Community of Practice is pleased to host the third annual CoP/AfriGEO Special Edition on Tuesday, January 20 from 8:30AM-10:30am EST (GMT-5) and Tuesday, February 3 from 8:30-10:30am EST (GMT-5). Following the Special Edition webinar held in March-April 2022 and March 2025, this third event will offer 4-minute flash talks on ongoing research applications that integrate Earth observation data into air quality monitoring (Day 1) and water- and vector-borne disease and environmental health surveillance (Day 2) in the African region.  

Agenda:

Day 1

Opening Words (8:30–8:40am EST/GMT-5)

• Welcoming Words from CoP Co-Chairs (John Haynes, NASA; Didier Davignon, ECCC) & AfriGEO Leadership (Ken Kasera, RCMRD; Peninah Mukami Njogu, RCMRD; Nale Mudau, SANSA)

Category 1: Building Capacity & Stakeholder Engagement (8:40–8:50am EST/GMT-5)

• Integrating NASA Satellite Data, Model Outputs, and Research into the U.S. State Department’s Environmental Diplomacy Efforts in Africa (Junhyeon Seo, NASA GSFC, USA)

• Empowering Geohealth in Africa with Open Air Quality Data (Colleen Rosales, OpenAQ, USA)

Category 2: Wildfire Smoke, Volcanic Plumes & Dust Storms (8:50–9:10am EST/GMT-5)

• Satellite Monitoring of Volcanic Eruptions in Ethiopia and Assessment of their Impact on Air Quality (Lin Zhu, China Meteorological Administration, China)

• Global Wildfire Smoke: A Public Health Crisis (Yuqi Bai, Tsinghua University, China

• Popularizing Digital Twin GIS for Urban Wildfire Management among Kenya’s Fire Disaster Response Institutions (Alexander Opicho, Regional Center for Mapping of Resource for Development, Kenya)

• Monitoring Desert Dust Storms in Undersampled Desert Areas (Chrysoula Papathanasiou, Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, Greece)

Q&A Discussion (9:10–9:20am EST/GMT-5)

[10-minute break]

Category 3: Urban Air Pollution I (9:30–9:50am EST/GMT-5)

• A High-Resolution, People-Centric Approach to Mitigating Urban Heat and Air Pollution in West Africa (Antonio Correas, Skymantics, USA)

• New Insights of Air Quality and Health Indicators at the City Level with the GEO Human Planet Initiative (Sara Ciarlantini, European Commission, Italy)

• Tackling Urban Air Pollution through Participatory Mapping and Earth Observation in West Africa (Osunga Michael Otieno, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, Open Mapping Hub, West and Northern Africa, Kenya)

Category 4: Urban Air Pollution II (9:50–10:05am EST/GMT-5)

• Meteorological Influence on Urban Air Pollution in Lagos Using Miri Air Quality Device (Ibiyinka Amokeodo, Climate in Africa, Nigeria)

• EO-enabled Daily Air Quality Exposure Fields for Outdoor Workers in Data-sparse West African Cities (Honoré Dingam Rondouba, SANT SAS / Dr TOX – Environmental Health and Toxicology Initiative, Senegal)

• Space-Based Assessment of Quarry Activities on the Air Quality in Bwari Area Council, FCT Abuja (Olaide Monsor Aderoju, National Space Research and Development Agency, Nigeria)

Q&A Discussion (10:05–10:25am EST/GMT-5)

Summary & Closing Remarks (10:25–10:30am EST/GMT-5)

Day 2

Opening Words (8:30–8:35am EST/GMT-5)

• Welcoming Words from CoP Co-Chairs (John Haynes, NASA; Didier Davignon, ECCC) & AfriGEO Leadership (Ken Kasera, RCMRD; Peninah Mukami Njogu, RCMRD; Nale Mudau, SANSA)

Category 1:  Infectious Disease Surveillance (8:35–8:55am EST/GMT-5)

• Prediction of Water-borne Diseases Africa: A Curious Case of Cholera Antarpreet Jutla, University of Florida, USA)

• Spatial, Temporal, and Genetic Dynamics of Global Avian Influenza Virus Transmission (Bing Xu, Tsinghua University, China)

• Global Vegetation Pest and Disease Dynamic Remote Sensing Monitoring and Forecasting (Wenjiang Huang, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)

• Climate Variability and Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Meningitis in Côte d’Ivoire: Implications for Predictive Modelling and Public Health Preparedness (Brou Axelle Devernode Tano, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Cote D’Ivoire, Ivory Coast)

Q&A Discussion (8:55–9:05am EST/GMT-5)

Category 2:  Health Care Preparedness (9:05–9:25am EST/GMT-5)

• EO-Enabled Environmental Health Intelligence Hub for Early Warning and Improved Public Health Outcomes (Tubolayefa Warekuromor, National Space Research and Development Agency, NASRDA, Nigeria)

• The Impact of Weather Patterns on Health in Sudan: Early Warning Systems for Heatwaves and Rainfall Variability (Haitham Khogly, Sudan Meteorological Authority, Sudan)

• Healthcare Facilities Optimization in North-Central Nigeria: Phase 1 (Kogi and Nasarawa States) Using Geospatial Techniques (Mustapha Aliyu, National Space Research and Development Agency, Abuja Nigeria)

Q&A Discussion (9:25–9:35am EST/GMT-5)

[10-minute break]

Category 3: Malaria Disease Prevention & Control (9:45–10:10am EST/GMT-5)

• Incorporating Environmental Determinants of Malaria into Predictive Models for Decision (Michael Wimberly, University of Oklahoma)

• Using Earth Observation Data to Map and Predict Malaria Risk in West Pokot County, Kenya (Rev. Kigen Kipchirchir Benard, National Council for Population and Development, Kenya)

• Data-Driven Forecasting for Malaria Early Warning Systems in Africa (Usman Nazir, University of Oxford, UK)

• Next-Generation Larval Source Management Using High-Resolution Remote Sensing for Malaria Control (Xiao Huang, Emory University, USA)

Q&A Discussion (10:10–10:25am EST/GMT-5)

Summary & Closing Remarks (10:25-10:30am EST/GMT-5)