Environmental diseases are conditions caused or exacerbated by external factors such as pollution, toxins, and climate change.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly one-quarter of all global deaths are linked to environmental risk factors.
Vector-borne disease today accounts for more than 17 percent of infectious diseases.
In 2025, climate change and increased global travel triggered significant shifts in the geography and intensity of these diseases.
Dengue alone surged to over 2 million globally in the first half of the year, reaching more than 4.5 million cases and 3,000 deaths across 103 countries by November 2025.
Meanwhile, Africa remains the epicenter for Malaria and Chikungunya. This does not rule out the Mpox, Marburg, and other such infections that sprang from ecological imbalance.
However, Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is rapidly changing the way data is analysed and decisions are made.
This edition highlights the role of AI for Environmental Disease Surveillance and Eradication, in simple terms, public health.