Environment fingerprinting via digital technology - a new paradigm in hazard forecasting and early-warning systems for health risks in Africa

前所未有的城市化速度对城市的复原力构成了重大风险，公共卫生和福利是最关键的问题。这包括由于环境污染和生活方式因素而出现的（非）传染性疾病流行。为了提高城市的可持续性，迫切需要一个大规模和真实的运行的公共和环境健康诊断预警系统。非洲快速的城市化和不断增长的年轻人口也与快速的数字化和前所未有的新技术吸收有关。这为开发基于数字技术的、全面的、真实的实时预警系统提供了一个独特的机会，该系统适应快速变化的非洲的公共和环境健康风险。我们建议建立一个网络，旨在通过以数字创新为基础的城市环境指纹识别，在非洲建立一个公共和环境健康诊断和灾害预测平台。EDGE-I将利用数字创新和最先进的生物分析、社会经济、统计和建模工具，开发一个用于灾害预测和预警系统的环境指纹平台的概念模型（以及EDGE-II中的原型）。数字创新将集中在使用物联网（IoT）支持的传感器和云计算作为平台，用于捕获，存储，处理和向广泛的利益相关者群体呈现各种环境措施。EDGE将重点关注对非洲快速增长和城市化至关重要的两个关键主题领域：（1）水、卫生和公共卫生：作为传染病传播和环境AMR的媒介。(2)城市化与污染：作为环境退化和非传染性疾病的媒介。EDGE假设，对接收环境（污水、河流、土壤和空气）连续和匿名汇集的内源和外源环境以及人类来源的残留物的测量，可以提供关于被调查系统所暴露的物理、生物或化学应激源的数量和类型的近实时动态信息，并可以描述这种暴露的影响。因此，它可以真实的提供关于城市居民和周围环境健康状况的匿名、全面和客观的信息，因为城市环境不断汇集来自数千个城市住宅的匿名尿液、废水和径流样本。拉各斯（尼日利亚）、开普敦（南非）。非洲的年轻人和不断增长的人口正在迅速接受数字创新，这为建立一个以数字渠道为基础的系统提供了一个独特的机会，以产生长期和持久的影响。为了实现上述目标，EDGE-I将：1开发一个跨学科和跨部门的网络，重点是在非洲建立EWS 2开发一个以技术解决方案和公民科学的数字创新为基础的非洲EWS概念模型3与利益相关者接触：从公民，通过政府到数字技术行业EDGE-I将促进大规模研究计划（EDGE-II）的发展。

Unprecedented rate of urbanization constitutes substantial risks to the resilience of cities, with public health and welfare being the most critical concern. This includes the emergence of (non-)communicable disease epidemics due to environment contamination and lifestyle factors. To increase the sustainability of cities, there is a critical need for an early warning system (EWS) for public & environmental health diagnostics that operates on a large scale and in real time. Rapid urbanisation and the young, growing population of Africa are also linked with rapid digitisation and an unprecedented up-take of new technology. This presents a unique opportunity for the development of a digital technology-based, comprehensive and real time EWS that is attuned to public and environmental health risks in rapidly changing Africa. We propose to build a network aiming to develop a public & environmental health diagnostics and hazard forecasting platform in Africa via urban environment fingerprinting underpinned by digital innovation. EDGE-I will develop a conceptual model (and a prototype in EDGE-II) of an environment fingerprinting platform for hazard forecasting and EWS using DIGITAL INNOVATION and state-of-the-art bioanalytical, socioeconomic, statistical & modelling tools. The digital innovation will be focused on the use of Internet of Things (IoT) enabled sensors and cloud computing as a plat-form for capturing, storing, processing, and presenting a wide range of environmental measures to a broad group of stakeholders. EDGE will focus on two key thematic areas of critical importance to rapidly growing and urbanising Africa: (1) Water, sanitation & public health: as a vector for infectious disease spread and environmental AMR. (2) Urbanization & pollution: as a vector for environmental degradation and non-communicable disease. EDGE postulates that the measurement of endo- and exogenous environment & human derived residues continuously and anonymously pooled by the receiving environment (sewage, rivers, soils and air), can provide near real-time dynamic information about the quantity and type of physical, biological or chemical stressor to which the surveyed system is exposed, and can profile the effects of this exposure. It can therefore provide anonymised, comprehensive and objective information on the health status of urban dwellers and surrounding environments in real time, as urban environment continuously pools anonymous urine, wastewater and runoff samples from thousands of urban dwellings.EDGE-I will focus on building a concept of a prototype of EWS in two geographically and socioeconomically contrasting areas in Africa: Lagos (Nigeria), Cape Town (South Africa). The young and growing population of Africa that is rapidly up-taking digital innovation provides a unique opportunity for building a system underpinned by digital channels to provide long and lasting impacts. To achieve above EDGE-I will:1 Develop a transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral network focussed on building EWS in Africa2 Develop a conceptual model of an EWS in Afri-ca underpinned by digital innovation in techno-logical solutions and Citizen Science3 Engage with stakeholders: from citizens, through government to digital tech industryEDGE-I will catalyse the development of a large-scale research programme (EDGE-II).