EHCON, Netzence deepen implementation of CloseCarbon+ Al- powered climate health solution

Netzence Sustainability Limited (Netzence) and the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) have said they are seeking to demonstrate how artificial intelligence, environmental monitoring and real-time data can help Nigeria anticipate climate-related health risks before they become emergencies.

They said the country’s climate challenge was increasingly becoming a public health challenge, noting that when temperatures rise beyond normal levels, the consequences go beyond uncomfortable weather. Similarly, when air quality deteriorates, the impact extends beyond the environment.

According to them, across many developing economies, environmental conditions and public health outcomes are still largely monitored through separate systems.

Speaking on the issue, the Registrar/CEO of EHCON, Dr Yakubu Baba, said field activities were ongoing as part of an impact assessment programme aimed at generating real-world environmental intelligence and establishing evidence that could inform future interventions. He said the significance of the exercise extended beyond technology deployment.

For his part, the Founder and CEO of Netzence, Associate Professor Sadiq Sani, said: “The resulting question is no longer simply whether environmental conditions are changing. It is whether Nigeria possesses sufficient real-time intelligence to understand where environmental risks are emerging, who may be exposed, and how institutions should respond. EHCON and Netzence believe technology can become part of that answer.

“From environmental monitoring to climate-health intelligence, CloseCarbon+ represents an evolution in the use of environmental data. The proposition goes beyond collecting isolated environmental readings.

“The solution is being developed around the integration of environmental monitoring, artificial intelligence and data analytics to generate intelligence that can support a better understanding of environmental conditions and their potential health implications. This distinction is important. Data tells an institution what has been recorded. Intelligence helps decision-makers understand what that data could mean.

“The ambition behind CloseCarbon+ is therefore to move progressively from measurement to interpretation, from interpretation to anticipation and ultimately from anticipation to intervention. Through environmental monitoring infrastructure, relevant indicators can be observed across participating locations.”

Meanwhile, as datasets grow, artificial intelligence and analytical models can help identify patterns, anomalies, correlations and areas requiring closer attention. Over time, such intelligence could support a more dynamic understanding of environmental exposure across communities.

Imagine, for example, an environmental health system capable of identifying locations experiencing deteriorating air quality. Imagine combining that intelligence with temperature patterns during periods of extreme heat. Imagine identifying recurring environmental hotspots. Then imagine authorised public institutions having access to this intelligence early enough to investigate, communicate risks or design appropriate interventions. That is where environmental technology begins to serve as public health infrastructure.

This is why the ongoing field impact assessment is particularly important. Technology developed in controlled environments ultimately has to confront the complexity of the real world. Environmental conditions, communities, infrastructure, human behaviour and pollution sources vary, while weather patterns change. The purpose of field implementation is therefore not simply to demonstrate that a device or platform can collect information, but also to understand how the entire system performs in actual Nigerian environments.

The ongoing activities provide an opportunity to establish baselines, observe environmental conditions, assess data quality, evaluate deployment requirements and generate evidence that could inform subsequent phases of implementation.

This evidence-led approach is critical. The global climate technology sector is entering an era in which ambition alone is insufficient. Governments, investors, development institutions and communities increasingly demand measurable impact. What was monitored? What changed? Where did it change? How reliable is the information? What decisions can be made from it? What intervention followed? And ultimately, did people’s lives improve?

The EHCON-Netzence implementation creates an opportunity to begin answering these questions within the Nigerian context.

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