I don't often share personal milestones; but this one is worth saying out loud.
I have been selected as one of 34 Elite fellows (from over 1,700 applicants) for the Animal Advocacy Africa Nigeria Incubation Fellowship 2026, running from June to August. I am honoured to be one of them.
When I first applied, I genuinely wondered whether this 'fit' my work in AI, global health, biosecurity, and behavioral design. Then I remembered: I spent years in remote underserved mobilizing communities to protect the health of women, children and families . Health begins with how we treat the living systems around us - including the animals we depend on for food.
The fact is that: industrial animal agriculture is not just an animal welfare issue. It is a biosecurity issue. It is a food sovereignty issue. It is a behavioral science issue. The conditions under which we raise animals at scale are among the most significant drivers of zoonotic spillover, engineered pandemic risk, and nutritional insecurity in the South - all themes that sit at the core of my work.
Zoonotic diseases. Factory farming. Food insecurity. These are not separate problems from what I work on every day. They are the same problem, viewed from a different angle.
This fellowship is a strategic expansion of my ecosystem lens, and I am joining a cohort of high-potential advocates to explore how evidence-based, community-driven interventions AI/ML can reshape Nigeria's animal welfare system
I am going in with more of curiosity than certainty. And honestly that feels really exciting.
Ijeoma - Good Journey. 🌱
#AnimalAdvocacyAfrica #AAAFellowship2026 #Biosecurity #BehavioralDesign #Nigeria #GlobalHealth #VitalNutrient #GBI
