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Issue Uncorrected refractive errors (e.g., myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism) are significant causes of preventable visual impairment, blindness and disability. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 158 million people are visually impaired due to uncorrected refractive errors, including 8.7 million people who are blind. Lack of awareness and inability to access or afford services are the primary contributing factors. Solution Implemented in Vietnam, the goal of the project was to screen underserved schoolchildren for uncorrected refractive errors. This was done by enhancing and expanding Helen Keller International’s (HKI) innovative ChildSight® program through integration with private optic shops in Kon Tum Province,…implementation. Findings showed that, in general, ChildSight® achieved its goals. Based on the success and public health significance of its eye care programs, HKI Vietnam has received support from multiple levels of the government, including schools, district, provincial and national health and education departments. HKI has received additional funding from Grand Challenges Canada, as well…

…under the age of five, with the majority of cases occurring in developing countries. The United Nations declared that one of the four Millennium Development Goals is to reduce childhood mortality, and making inroads into the toll taken by diarrhea would help move towards this goal. Solution The project aimed to develop a handy device that is low-cost and portable, and yet sensitive enough for the detection of diarrhea-causing pathogens in water. Single-walled carbon nanotube thin film (SWNT-TF) sensors have been integrated onto two prototype platforms, test strip-based and microchip-based. Test strips…removing the top layer along with chemicals at the tip of each strip, and using the plastic substrate and metal contacts only. Both prototype platforms can be coupled to an electronic read-out unit to perform pathogen detection. For pathogen detection, with the strip-based prototype, the strip is inserted into a contact socket, which is connected…a bacteria (E. coli) strain; detection of about 50 virions and a single bacteria in two hours was confirmed. This indicates that better sample delivery methods to promote virus/bacteria transport to the sensor surface could lead to successful detection at even lower solution concentrations than that showed in the proof-of-concept study. The approach does not…

Issue Despite the existence of many intervention programs, high HIV infection rates among adolescents worldwide account for 42% of new infections, with 80% of new infections being in Sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS 2010). Girls aged 15–24 have HIV infection rates twice as high as in young men and, in Kenya, HIV prevalence among young women aged 15–24 is four times higher than among young men. Adolescent girls are also more likely to contract HIV from older, more sexually active male partners, whom they look to for financial support. Solution The aim of the No Sugar For Me project was to test the impact of training girls in negotiation skills when faced with situations that could…

…at risk of infection. In addition, the disease form in livestock causes ~$7.5 billion in annual losses in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Simple and definitive diagnostic tests for the three forms of trypanosomiasis are lacking. Solution The project aimed to develop a simple, field-based, diagnostic test that would be capable of detecting all pathogenic trypanosomes in vectors, animals and, if possible, humans responsible for causing three forms of…temperatures of 55oC The results are visually inspected by colour change or using a dipstick. Outcome Testing showed unequivocal detection of target DNA, with an analytical sensitivity superior to PCR tests available for detection of pathogens in vectors and animals. The throughput from sample preparation to result was approximately >62 tests per three hours/per person, with time…

…medical education. While there are thousands of useful, freely accessible e-learning objects in health sciences, no one has collected and transformed these resources into a university available to the whole world. Solution Implemented online, the project team launched the world’s first free, for-credit university-level training portal, NextGenU.org. NextGenU provides anyone, anywhere, access to university- and graduate-level courses in the health sciences, either for interest or for credit. All NextGenU courses are offered in partnership with organizations, including universities and professional societies, certified to give courses for credit. NextGenU’s initial offerings…

Issue Mycotoxin contamination is a serious problem in cereal production worldwide and the toxins can have serious health effects. Recently in Kenya, mycotoxin contamination was responsible for the destruction of 2,300,000 bags of maize, accompanied by exposure risk to 140,000 people, including hospitalization of 317 and 125 deaths. Solution This project evaluated the effectiveness of various drying and storage methods for reducing mycotoxin contamination and insect…prototype drier had the lowest moisture content, followed by the locally made drier, while the highest moisture content was in traditionally dried maize. Preliminary results showed no significant differences in the number of grains with fungal growth, as the range was between 62–66% for all drying methods. Contamination with mycotoxins was also evaluated and results…

…countries. While early detection of CVD is possible through affordable tools such as laboratory tests, their efficacy is limited because, without symptoms, the patient rarely pays attention to cardiovascular health until the late stages of CVD. Solution The objective of this project was to develop a CVD screening process in Egypt, to encourage the public…has vascular disorders. The approach is based on two hypotheses: that the human vascular system is one compartment; thus a disease in an inner vessel will show up in the peripheral vessels, and that blood vessels in the eye can be easily and directly imaged using low-cost devices The first step of the project was…finally, evaluating the capability of these features to differentiate normal from abnormal vessels. This last step required building a database of images of healthy volunteers with no signs or history of cardiovascular diseases and patients with different types of cardiovascular disease (e.g., stroke, angina, chronic high blood pressure or ischemic heart disease). Another component of…features in the eye and patients with CVD, versus healthy subjects. Knowledge of the project has been widely disseminated at conferences and the team plans to apply for Transition To Scale (TTS) funding. A website has also been established that aimed to raise the general awareness about cardiovascular disease, eye diseases and how to maintain…

Issue LMICs often lack the diagnostic tools necessary for disease detection due to: a lack of lab facilities and trained personnel, the high cost to patients, and difficulties in repairing equipment. Instead of using lab-based tools, point-of-care (POC) screening devices are often used to measure biomarkers and enable earlier disease detection. POC devices are often …

…Globally, there were 284,000 maternal deaths in 2012, with 99% of these occurring in developing countries. A total of 44% of Filipino mothers give birth without access to a doctor, as the existing healthcare infrastructure provides minimal medical service. Solution The project aimed to develop a low-cost and portable ultrasound prototype, to provide obstetrical care…additional hardware requirements. An easy-to-use user interface was developed, to aid operation by midwives and facilitate efficient consultation with distant experts. Cloud server software was developed, to support management of test data and to allow medical experts from anywhere in the world to participate in the screening and diagnostic process using the acquired ultrasound data. The team developed an ultrasound imaging platform, but the device has limitations, as it currently only supports an ultrasound transducer array of 32 elements, which is inadequate for practical imaging purposes. Due to the limited technical performance of the imaging device, it has yet to be deployed for clinical trials. Further development of the hardware…

Issue HIV infection remains a major issue in Africa. Access and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) effectively suppresses HIV levels, reduces illness and drug resistance, and prevents disease transmission. Solution In an earlier clinical trial in Kenya, the WelTel project documented that using low-cost mobile phones and text messaging can improve adherence and treatment outcomes …to be ART adherent and 19% more likely to have a suppressed viral load at the end of one year. WelTel Kenya2 involves developing a business model for scaling this proven approach of sending short, weekly text message inquiries to patients, to promote ART adherence and identify issues for follow-up by clinicians. Outcome Results enabled WelTel, in partnership with the University of British Columbia, to refine its text message service…