, , , ,

Empowering Inventions to Help Impoverished Women

help women in poverty Across the globe, poverty comes in different forms. Over the years, individuals and companies have developed products to help those in poverty. Since poverty disproportionately impacts women, several companies are inventing products that address the specific tribulations of women. Flo, Hemafuse, Embrace and fashionable iodine dots are inventions that aim to help impoverished women across the globe.

4 Empowering Inventions to Help Impoverished Women

  1. Flo: The Reusable Menstrual Kit. Flo is an inexpensive, reusable menstrual kit designed by Mariko Higaki Iwai. The discreet kit allows girls to “wash, dry and carry reusable sanitary pads.” In developing nations such as Kenya, female students miss about five days of education a month due to a lack of access to menstrual products to properly manage their periods. The Flo kit aims to reduce the risk of infections due to inadequate menstrual hygiene and address period poverty to keep girls in school. With girls able to consistently attend school, they are able to acquire the tools and knowledge to rise out of poverty.
  2. Hemafuse: The Blood Recycler. Hemafuse is an affordable syringe-like device that collects and filters blood that can then be used in a blood transfusion. Since developing nations lack a “reliable blood supply” for emergency blood transfusions, Hemafuse serves to reduce preventable deaths due to blood loss. Hemafuse is particularly valuable in “ruptured ectopic pregnancies,” a common occurrence in the developing world. During ectopic pregnancies, a woman “can lose half of her blood volume,” necessitating an emergency blood transfusion that Hemafuse can help facilitate in countries with limited resources. In this way, Hemafuse can save the lives of millions of impoverished women in lower-income countries.
  3. Embrace: The Portable Incubator. One of the leading causes of newborn death is unregulated body temperature, which can lead to a newborn death every 10 seconds. Incubators are designed to address this issue, however, high costs make incubators inaccessible to hospitals that cannot afford the technology. Embrace is an affordable, portable incubator that serves as an alternative to this necessity. The inexpensive incubator is reusable and “does not require stable electricity,” making it ideal for impoverished and remote hospitals with limited resources. The design also “allows for close mother-child interaction” as a mother can hold the newborn instead of placing the baby in a conventional incubator. Embrace has saved the lives of more than 350,000 babies and aims to continue this trend with the goal of saving “one million babies by 2026.” Overall, Embrace reduces mortality rates among children of impoverished women.
  4. Life-Saving Dots: Fashionable Iodine. In India, many women face iodine deficiencies due to a lack of trust in foreign medicine. As a result, “pregnancy complications and fibrocystic breast disease” are not uncommon. The life-saving dot functions not only as a source of iodine for women but also as a bindi. Without having to take medication, women can wear these iodine dots on their foreheads to supplement the nutrients they need to maintain good health.

Overall, these four innovations provide significant support for women in poverty. Through creative and innovative solutions, the world can see more progress in reducing global poverty.

– Maddie Rhodes
Photo: Flickr

, , , , , ,

LifeBank Improves Healthcare in Africa

LifeBankFounded in 2016, LifeBank is a Nigerian health technology startup created to address the issue of blood shortages in Nigeria. The startup recently expanded to Kenya and aims to save lives across all of Africa. LifeBank has succeeded in saving more than 10,000 lives in critical emergencies and plans to save 990,000 more lives as it extends its reach to Kenya. The startup works to find technological solutions to improve healthcare in Africa.

LifeBank’s Mission

LifeBank has dedicated itself to solving the problems of healthcare in Africa. Founder Temie Giwa-Tubosun was initially inspired by her own child’s birth, which took place in the United States. The baby was born prematurely and Giwa-Tubosun could have died of postpartum hemorrhage had she given birth in Nigeria. Giwa-Tubosun told Africa Renewal that “Eight out of 10 women who bleed to death while giving birth can be saved if blood is readily available.” Blood shortages are common in Nigeria and other African countries. Giwa-Tubosun created LifeBank to address this issue.

LifeBank has had a profound impact on healthcare in Africa. The innovative company “uses data, technology and smart logistics to improve the discoverability, delivery, affordability and safety of essential medical products like blood and oxygen for health systems” in Nigeria and Kenya. Since its creation, LifeBank has saved thousands of lives by delivering more than 25,000 essential medical products to roughly 550 hospitals in need.

How LifeBank Works

A strong health supply chain engine in Africa is characterized by a 24-hour delivery service from ports to medical centers. LifeBank works to make this process affordable, adaptable and accessible to everyone. LifeBank uses every type of delivery service, including “bikes, boats, trucks, tricycles and drones.” The company utilizes Google Maps to calculate and monitor the routes involved in blood transportation.

LifeBank uses AI and Blockchain in its distribution system. Its deployment services utilize USSD or SMS to ensure universal access. Patients or doctors place a phone call to LifeBank or make an order through the company’s app. Then, LifeBank contacts the blood bank closest to the patient and the delivery service begins. LifeBank’s service is on-demand. It works across eight states in Nigeria and will now expand to Kenya. The company is able to deliver supplies in less than 50 minutes. LifeBank has made a visible impact on healthcare in Africa and intends to continue doing so.

Improving Healthcare in Africa

According to the World Health Organization, “nearly 20% of all global maternal deaths” occur in Nigeria. Access to blood could significantly reduce cases of maternal deaths involving blood loss. The Nigerian National Blood Transfusion Service often raises concerns about the lack of blood donors in the country, which significantly impacts the blood shortage in Nigeria.

LifeBank aims to solve two major problem areas in the health sector of Africa: accessibility and infrastructure. People in need of blood or hospitals, especially those located in rural areas, have no access to essential medical supplies. Further, blood banks are searching for patients and hospitals to provide for. LifeBank helps connect the two, providing quality information and ensuring fast deliveries.

LifeBank hopes to create a more robust healthcare system by strengthening the supply chain engine across Africa. With its expansion to Kenya, it will continue to save more lives by delivering medical supplies to reduce preventable deaths.

– Addison Franklin
Photo: Flickr

, , , ,

Tackling Hemophilia in Kenya

Hemophilia in KenyaAround 5,000 Kenyans suffer from a blood disorder called hemophilia. Hemophilia prevents blood clots from forming after a wound and results in continuous bleeding. Many Kenyans with this disorder often pass away due to the inability to pay for treatment. Also, stigma from local communities makes individuals believe that hemophilia comes from witchcraft, which prevents affected Kenyans from seeking treatment through Western medicine. The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) Humanitarian Aid Program, Muranga Hospital and Save One Life offer free medical treatment to low-income patients, give grants to fund small businesses, host gatherings to encourage peer support and provide education and awareness about hemophilia in Kenya.

The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) Humanitarian Aid Program

WFH’s work in Kenya began in 2015 and strives to provide medical treatment to lower-income individuals with hemophilia. Since arriving in Kenya, the program donated more than 17 million international units of clotting factor to Kenyans. This treatment allows patients with acute bleeding to find temporary relief.

With the consistent flow of clotting factor coming into Kenya, young children qualify for prophylactic treatment. WFH offers prophylactic treatment to children with hemophilia to reduce the risk of bleeding and joint damage in the future. As a result, children on the verge of dropping out of school due to their disorders continued with their education after receiving treatment.

Muranga Hospital

Located in central Kenya, the Muranga Hospital dedicates a special clinic to treating patients with hemophilia in Kenya. Before the construction of this clinic, affected Kenyans traveled two hours to receive treatment in Nairobi and spent a significant portion of their income on travel expenses.

The clinic in the Muranga Hospital offers vials of clotting factor to stop acute bleeding. Medical professionals dispatch factor to the homes of patients who desperately need treatment. When the factor arrives, patients call the clinic and nurses teach the individuals how to properly inject themselves.

Because the clinic is located in a rural area with minimal education about blood disorders, the local community strongly believes that hemophilia comes from witchcraft. This false belief prevents affected individuals from seeking proper medical treatment. Health professionals from the clinic attempt to combat this myth by going out into the community and educating the public about hemophilia.

Save One Life

Save One Life came into existence in 2000 and aims to alleviate the financial burden of families in developing countries that hemophilia affects. More specifically, the organization helps patients by offering grants and emotional support.

Save One Life gives out grants of around $800 to low-income Kenyans with hemophilia to invest in their small businesses. The grant helps patients to expand their businesses and earn extra money to pay for their medical treatments. Grants fund a range of businesses, from ridesharing services to dairy farming.

Also, the organization hosts gatherings for women with children who suffer from hemophilia. In a meeting of almost 50 women, local Kenyan women discussed their experiences dealing with the stigma of hemophilia and the difficulties of raising children without help from their husbands. The meetings allow women to exchange advice and offer emotional support to each other.

With the help of nonprofit organizations and rural clinics, low-income individuals who experience hemophilia are able to obtain medical treatments and live more substantial lives. Raising awareness and educating the public about hemophilia in Kenya dissolves the shame associated with the condition so that affected individuals can seek out proper medical care.

– Samantha Rodriguez-Silva
Photo: Flickr

, , , , , , , , , ,

10 Apps That Aid Healthcare in Developing Countries

Apps that aid in healthcare in developing countries It can sometimes be difficult for people in developing countries to access healthcare, specifically those living in poverty. In order to address this problem, healthcare apps are being used to provide greater access. Here are 10 healthcare aid apps that are impacting access in developing countries.

10 Apps That Aid Healthcare in Developing Countries

  1. Peek has its sights set on helping people with vision impairment issues and blindness, a problem exacerbated in developing countries by a lack of resources. Peek can identify people with vision problems. The app then works with healthcare providers to pinpoint an economically feasible way to supply the treatment they need, before allocating the appropriate resources. Currently, Peek is being used by the International Centre for Eye Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which is administering a population-based survey of blindness and visual impairments in Cambodia.
  2. SASAdoctor focuses on making healthcare consultations more accessible in Kenya. In the country, only 12% of people are insured. About 8 million are reliant on the National Hospital Insurance Fund, leaving 35 million Kenyans uninsured. Available to all Kenyans with an Android smartphone or tablet (65% of Kenyans have one), SASAdoctor decreases the cost of an in-person consultation for the uninsured and makes it free for those with insurance. Patients will have their medical history, list of medications and other such medical notes in their ‘file’ on the app, so that whoever tele-consults with them will have the information they need to create an informed medical opinion. SASAdoctor can decrease the cost of uninsured visits with a doctor to Kes 495 (the equivalent of $4.66) for a projected 80% of Kenyans who are predicted to have smartphones in the next few years.
  3. iWander allows people to keep track of Alzheimer’s patients. Set with tracking technology that can be discretely worn by the patient, it offers whoever uses the app several options on how to deal with situations involving the patient. Solutions can range from a group calling session to making an emergency medical call or summoning a caregiver. iWander gives families more control over the care of a loved one, which can have a positive impact in countries where healthcare may be less accessible. In the US, the average cost of care for a single person is $174,000 annually. About 7 out of 10 individuals with dementia remain at home to receive care, where 75% of the costs fall to the family to pay. In helping families be proactive instead of reactive to crises, iWander can help in cutting these costs, especially in poorer countries, where many families are struggling to keep up with the high costs of at-home care.
  4. Kenek O2 allows the user to monitor their oxygen and heart rate while they sleep. Kenek O2, built for the iPhone, also requires a pulse oximeter which connects to the phone and retrieves the data to be stored in the app. Together, the cost for these two items is around $100, compared to the price of a regular hospital oximeter and other similar products, which could easily cost more than $500. Having effectively been used in North America, South America, Asia and Africa, Kenek O2 is currently working on developing a special COVID-19 device to watch for early signs of hypoxia, or the deficiency of oxygen reaching tissues.
  5. First Derm is an app that requires a smartphone-connected device, called a dermatoscope. This allows detailed pictures to be taken of skin conditions and lesions to better allow for remote, teleconsultations. In places where doctors are few and far between, and public transport is less reliable, this can make getting a second medical opinion much easier. So far, First Derm has helped in more than 15,000 cases from Sweden, Chile, China, Australia and Ghana, ranging from ages of just 3 days old to 98 years. Of these cases, 70% could be treated without a doctor, most often by over-the-counter treatments available at local pharmacies.
  6. Ada takes user-input symptoms and provides appropriate measures to take as a result, like a personal health assistant. It’s intended to assist those who don’t have the means to seek an in-person consultation right away. The app has been released in several languages, which makes it more accessible. Currently, 10 million people around the world are using Ada for symptom evaluation.
  7. Babylon is intended to mitigate the obstacle of going to see a doctor in person by allowing users to input symptoms or solve common health problems via teleconsultation with a doctor. Babylon specializes in non-emergent medicine, allowing patients to skip a trip to the doctor’s office entirely if their condition allows it. This is beneficial in places where doctors are sparse, or the patient lacks the financial means or a method of transportation in getting to the hospital. Babylon caters to users across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Rwanda and several countries across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The app aims to expand to more countries in the upcoming years.
  8. MobiSante, through its ultrasound device, allows versatility in diagnostic imaging by bringing the ultrasound to the patient. This allows quality, diagnostic imaging to be done outside the confines of a hospital or clinic. As a result, it provides more holistic and informed treatment where people may need it most but have previously struggled in accessing a healthcare center with the necessary technology. While having a computer at home with a desk is much less common in developing countries, the world’s increasing reliance on the internet is shifting the status of internet technology from a luxury to a basic necessity. This means that technology such as smartphones are becoming somewhat of a necessity in impoverished countries, making an app like MobiSante effective in using smartphones to make diagnostic imaging more accessible.
  9. Go.Data is a tool released by the WHO. It is specifically for collecting data during global health emergencies. During the Ebola outbreak in Africa, Go.Data was praised for tracing points of contact. The app also tracked infection trends and helped in arranging post-contact follow up.
  10. Mobile Midwife is a digital charting app that stores information in a cloud so that healthcare workers have access to all pertinent patient information. It works even in cases of power outages, or home births where internet connection may be less reliable. This app can help in areas where mother and infant mortality is higher, ensuring that healthcare providers can efficiently access patient information to ensure the best care. It can also cut the extra time it takes to find records that could otherwise make procedures more dangerous for both mother and child.

Bridging healthcare accessibility with smartphone apps isn’t a perfect solution, as it comes with accessibility issues of its own. However, these healthcare aid apps can help people without insurance, or who are physically unable to visit a physician, access health consultations. As a result, more people are provided access to healthcare, empowering a healthier (and more health-conscious) population.

– Catherine Lin
Photo: Flickr

, , , ,

6 Facts About Healthcare in Kenya


Kenya is a coastal country located in East Africa. The nation is developing significantly in terms of economy and healthcare provision. However, since there is a high prevalence of natural disasters and poverty, there are recognizable problems when it comes to healthcare in Kenya. For instance, there are 8.3 nurses and 1.5 doctors per 10,000 people. These numbers fall drastically short of the WHO recommendation of 25 nurses and 36 doctors per 10,000 people. Here are six of the major issues related to healthcare in Kenya and how the country is addressing them.

6 Facts About Healthcare in Kenya

  1. In 2016, malaria was the leading cause of mortality in Kenya. The CDC reported that there are nearly 3.5 million new clinical cases and 10,700 deaths each year. Nevertheless, treatments are on the rise. Long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets and artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) have proven to be effective prevention and treatment. ACTs are fast-acting and “artemisinin-based compounds are combined with a drug from a different class” to make the treatment. Since the early 2010s, access to ACTs has increased significantly, though there is still a need for access to them in rural areas. In 2019, the WHO reported that Kenya became the third country to implement the world’s first malaria vaccine. Children receive this vaccine as part of routine immunizations, and experts expect it to lower malaria cases significantly in Kenya.
  2. Kenya has one of the highest rates of HIV-infection in the world. UNAIDS reports that, in 2018, 1.6 million Kenyans were living with HIV. Of this population, Avert, a resource for information on HIV and AIDS, states that more than half are unaware of their HIV status. Fortunately, the Kenyan Ministry of Health has announced that HIV cases are decreasing, with the HIV prevalence standing at 4.9% as of February 2020. To improve HIV status awareness, the Kenyan government has partnered with the EGPAF to invest in door-to-door testing campaigns and self-testing kits. The program has emphasized aiding counties with high or rising HIV prevalence. Additionally, UNAIDS reported that 91% of HIV-positive pregnant women were able to access antiretroviral treatment in 2018.
  3. Kenya is one of the most highly industrialized countries in East Africa, meaning that pollution is prevalent. Air pollution in Kenya causes death both directly and indirectly. The State of Global Air reports that, in 2017, air pollution directly caused 4,710 deaths in Kenya. Indirectly, air pollution has increased cases of pneumonia, tuberculosis, water pollution and diarrheal diseases, which are among the top fatal diseases in the country. The combined direct and indirect deaths from air pollution total approximately 18,000 each year. However, there is hope for improvement. Inventions like air sensors can report data about air quality. Kenyans are using these sensors to report data via social media and pressure leaders into making change.
  4. Cancer cases in Kenya are on the rise. As a noncommunicable disease, cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Kenya. The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) reports that Kenya has 47,000 new cases every year. The UICC also notes that cancer tends to appear in the younger population, and this trend is attributed to lifestyle and environmental changes. To address this crisis, the country is investing in cancer research and support. Additionally, the Kenyan Parliament passed a law to address proper cancer management.
  5. Infant deaths are one of the greatest challenges facing healthcare in Kenya. UNICEF reports that 74,000 children in Kenya die before the age of five each year. These deaths are often caused by poverty, as many families cannot easily access the resources needed for child healthcare. One such resource is insurance. According to the WHO, in 2018, 80% of the Kenyan population did not have any insurance. As a result, the government set aside $40-45 million to establish Universal Health Coverage to help more people to access appropriate healthcare services.
  6. There is a stigma surrounding mental health in Kenya. As a result, there are limited resources allocated to mental health awareness, and Kenyans resist seeking help for mental health issues. Despite this stigma, there is intensive research being done to engage both informal and formal health practitioners in addressing mental health problems to improve healthcare in Kenya.

 

Kenya is determined to address the most challenging problems related to healthcare in the country. There is an emphasis on research and investing in resources to help more people to access better and more affordable healthcare services. Healthcare in Kenya is expected to see improvement in the coming years.

– Renova Uwingabire
Photo: Flickr