20 units to be supplied first to major referral hospitals, with expansion planned nationwide

Local clinical trial recorded 98.82% sensitivity, cutting test time by 20 minutes

AI technology seen as answer to shortage of skilled diagnosticians in low-resource settings

Noul's AI-based malaria diagnostic solution, miLab MAL. [Noul]
Noul's AI-based malaria diagnostic solution, miLab MAL. [Noul]

Noul, a South Korean company specializing in AI-based blood and cancer diagnostics, has won a public procurement contract with the Beninese government, securing official entry of its AI malaria diagnostic solution, miLab MAL, into the country's national disease-control system.

Noul announced Monday that miLab MAL had been selected as the winning bid in a public procurement tender by Benin's Ministry of Health and formally adopted as a standard diagnostic platform under the country's National Malaria Control Program, known by its French acronym PNLP.

Under the contract, Noul will initially supply 20 units, prioritizing major referral hospitals that bear the heaviest burden of severe malaria cases, with plans to extend supply to public health facilities across the country. The company said the deal goes beyond hospital-by-hospital sales, embedding its AI diagnostic device into the PNLP's standard response framework — the government body that oversees national disease control, including prevention, diagnosis and treatment, under the Ministry of Health.

A locally conducted clinical trial played a decisive role in the national-level adoption. A study carried out last year at major university hospitals in southern and northern Benin, involving 211 children suspected of severe malaria, found that miLab MAL achieved a sensitivity of 98.82% and a specificity of 100% compared with conventional manual microscopy. The device also cut average testing time from 75 minutes to under 20 minutes. Based on those findings, Benin's PNLP officially classified miLab MAL as a point-of-care device and recommended its introduction into the country's malaria control program.

Benin is a high-burden country where the entire population lives in malaria-endemic areas. According to the WHO, an estimated 5.1 million people in Benin contracted malaria in 2024 and about 9,900 died from the disease, making it a leading cause of child mortality. Conventional manual microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests have long been faulted for their limitations — inconsistent results depending on the examiner's skill level and a risk of misdiagnosis in patients with low parasitemia.

The contract validates South Korean AI technology as an alternative capable of improving both diagnostic accuracy and speed in low-resource countries with weak diagnostic infrastructure. Noul said it expects the deal to serve as a springboard for expanding public procurement channels to global health organizations and neighboring African nations. The company plans to continue deepening partnerships with local public health programs as it targets the African market, which accounts for 95% of the global malaria burden.

"This achievement is the fruit of Noul's AI technology being recognized as a core solution that can overcome the limitations of point-of-care diagnostics within national health systems," Chief Executive Im Chan-yang said. "Building on the official adoption recommendation and procurement contract from Benin's health authorities, we will accelerate the spread of our technology into public health markets in Africa and beyond."


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