Nigerian Doctor's Research Exposes how AI Threatens Global Health Equity
A Nigerian medical doctor and researcher based in the United States, Dr Nchebe-jah Raymond Iloanusi, has published new findings that may redefine how the world approaches artificial intelligence AI, especially in healthcare.
Iloanusi, who earned his medical degree at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Anambra State before advancing his career in New York, has revealed deep-rooted bias in AI healthcare systems, bias that could worsen health inequalities across the globe, including in Nigeria.
Currently an Assistant Professor at multiple U.S. institutions, CUNY College of Staten Island, Wagner College, and Farmingdale State College, Iloanusi presented his research at the prestigious ACM Conference on Digital Government Research. His study showed that widely used AI algorithms often produce poorer outcomes for minority populations, raising urgent concerns about fairness and equity in healthcare delivery.
According to the research, AI systems assign minority patients risk scores up to 46 per cent higher than equally sick majority patients, perform 14 per cent worse for minority patients in intensive care monitoring and generate significantly higher diagnostic error rates for underrepresented groups.
These patterns, experts said, represented not just technical flaws but a "global public health crisis." "This is not just about numbers it is about lives," said Iloanusi, adding: "When healthcare technology is built on data that excludes African populations, we risk exporting digital colonialism-where our people receive care recommendations from systems that never learned from our realities."
Iloanusi's journey from Anambra to the global research stage underscored Nigerian excellence in international academia. His medical training in Nigeria, he said, sharpened his perspective on healthcare inequities-insights he now applies to global challenges in technology and medicine. Professor Chukwudi Onyeaghana Okani, who supervised his training in Anambra, describes the work as transformative.
"Raymond's research represents a vital intersection between Nigerian medical education and global innovation. By exposing how AI discriminates against minority patients and suggesting clear solutions, he has positioned himself as a voice for equity in global healthcare."
The research warned that over 90 per cent of medical datasets used to train AI systems exclude non-white populations. This means African patients are virtually invisible in the data shaping global healthcare AI.
For Nigeria, where AI adoption in health is beginning to accelerate under the National AI Strategy, the findings raise critical questions. Without safeguards, AI tools deployed in local hospitals could unintentionally reinforce existing disparities.
Despite the alarming revelations, Iloanusi's work is not just about problems. His recommendations outline a path to fairness, including mandatory bias testing before AI deployment, inclusion of diverse populations in global health datasets, and community-driven approaches in AI design, particularly in Africa.
"Africa must not be an afterthought in the age of AI," Iloanusi stressed and added. "If we build with our people in mind from the start, Nigeria can lead the world in creating equitable, ethical healthcare technologies."
With his analysis of over 60,000 patient records across 45 international studies, Iloanusi has established himself as one of the world's leading authorities on AI bias in healthcare. His recognition in US and international academic circles reflects the caliber of research emerging from Nigerian-trained professionals working globally.
For Nigeria, his work provides both a warning and a roadmap. As the country invests in digital health and artificial intelligence, policymakers now have evidence-based guidance on how to avoid replicating the inequities of the West and how to build AI systems that serve Africa first.