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…214 million new cases of malaria worldwide in 2015, with an estimated 438,000 deaths. In rural Africa, most people live in houses that are not properly sealed to prevent entry of mosquitoes. In addition, most human activities (such as cooking and eating) take place outside in the early evenings. People remain greatly exposed to infection…against mosquito bites that occur indoors before people go to bed and outdoors during early evenings. Decorative sisal baskets and flags were produced locally by a women's group specializing in hand weaving sisal products, providing a business opportunity to the local communities in east Africa, where sisal is grown commercially. The percentage reduction of the density of mosquitoes in experimental huts with long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and transfluthrin-treated sisal decorative pieces was compared with huts equipped only with LLINs. The experimental design included three experimental huts and three treatments. Treatments included: 1)  Control:  permethrin-treated LLIN and four untreated sisal baskets 2)  Four transfluthrin-treated sisal baskets (2.5 mL) with a…were hung approximately 1m off the floor in the corner of the huts.Outcome The project successfully demonstrated that using transfluthrin-impregnated sisal decorative pieces, as a complementary approach for permethrin bed nets, confers additional protection against mosquito bites that occur indoors. Both low- and high-doses of transfluthrin baskets reduced entry of An. arabiensis mosquitoes by almost…

…rendered practically obsolete chloroquine and SP, and currently threatens the future of ACT in Africa. IRS is expensive, requires trained staff, does not reach remote areas (due to bad roads) and is often rejected by communities. LLITNs have poor coverage and are often incorrectly or never used by those who own them. Solution The project…available in the fields and gardens) and apply the insecticide-treated plaster onto mud walls of village huts. The insecticides are subsidized by the government. Outcome The most significant project-related achievement included a demonstration that locally and freely available soil, when mixed with insecticides and used as plaster on hut mud walls, has insecticidal activity similar…of insecticide, spray pumps, repair kits, sprayers, drivers, team leaders and training. By contrast, the low-tech factors in only the cost of insecticides and a small amount for transport from government stores and distribution to villagers. The most important changes that resulted from the project were that community members and their leaders were sensitized to…

…employment initiatives, yet many of the business development centres opened under that initiative sit empty, miles away from the slums where young girls engage in transactional sex to feed their families, and young boys and girls alike find short-term work picking trash. The tremendous competing stressors caused by the struggle for many youth to survive, day to day, are certain to contribute to less than optimal uptake of the Youth Readiness Initiative (YRI) without additional attention to overcoming…only in employment programs (EP) and (c) participant adherence to fidelity of the implementation of the YRI. Analysis will also show cost-effectiveness of the intervention as a supplement to youth employment programs, building a solid reference to scale up the integration of the YRI as a group-focused mental health service into existing youth employment schemes.

…resulting from conditions such as stroke and spinal cord injuries, with arm and hand dysfunction as a major consequence. Many patients in developing countries have limited access to rehabilitation services, due to a lack of medical infrastructure and trained personnel. Stroke contributes significantly to the incidence of disabilities of the upper limb and there is mounting evidence that functional recovery of arm paresis can occur well into the chronic stage of stroke. Solution An affordable Virtual Rehabilitation (VR) system for arm rehabilitation – a type of computer game to enhance training motivation – was developed by Jintronix Inc. The system provides three unilateral and two bilateral activities,…impairment in stroke patients with activities of the rehabilitation gaming system. Outcome An activity for bilateral reaching movements named ‘Catch, Carry & Drop’ was developed. This activity promotes controlled and coordinated bilateral movements of the upper extremities, while limiting compensatory trunk movements. The Catch, Carry & Drop activity was then integrated with the other upper-extremity…

…bacterium, Mycobacterium ulcerans, and is an important health problem in several communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.. BU mainly occurs in rural, swampy, subtropical regions in children aged 5 to 15 years old. Central and West Africa have the largest number of cases and there are an estimated 6,000 cases globally each year. Infections normally begin with…costly and has poor outcomes. Solution The overall objective of the project was to develop a simple and rapid test that can be used in the field for the diagnosis of Buruli ulcer disease. Activities undertaken to achieve this included: 1) The development of a simple and rapid DNA extraction procedure for the recovery of…

…health conditions worldwide Seventy-five percent of people who live with mental illness in low- and middle-income countries do not receive mental health services. This lack of access to treatment, along with social conditions such as poverty and stigma, negatively impacts community participation and can render people with serious mental illness as unemployable and marginalized. Solution This project, called CREATE, is a new paradigm for recovery from serious mental illness that couples social business with focused and culturally informed psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) practices and peer support. This 18-month demonstration project was conducted in Machakos Town, a city of approximately…well-being of the social business employees. The PSR Toolkit consists of psycho-education on the common mental and substance-use disorders, self-management, and workplace and life skills modules that promote recovery from serious mental illness. Mental health professionals at the Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital (Nairobi) and Machakos Level 5 District Hospital (Machakos Town) in Kenya…

…Measuring CD4 T-cell counts in HIV patients is an essential part of monitoring disease progression and treatment efficacy but this service is unavailable in most resource-limited countries, leading to spread of the contagious disease and many deaths. Conventional flow cytometry remains largely inaccessible for routine clinical use at the primary care level, due to its size and cost. There is a clear and urgent need for a simpler, more compact, cost-effective…mirrors for laser scanning or motion stages for CCD sensor positioning in order to measure a sizable volume of sample. The imaging approach, combined with use of purposely designed microfluidic chips, creates a unique opportunity for miniaturization of an optical particle detection system. The project was scaled through Grand Challenges Canada and ChipCare was able to attract…

Issue Infection resulting from unclean conditions is a leading cause of maternal and newborn deaths in developing countries. Facility-based births are recommended as an effective strategy to improve the quality of care at childbirth. However, health facilities in resource-poor settings often lack access to adequate staff, training, sterile supplies and infrastructure required to provide clean and safe births. Scalable and sustainable distribution of simple, proven technology solutions for resource-poor health institutions continues to be a serious development roadblock. Solution In India, Ayzh, a social enterprise, has developed a Clean Birth Kit to help women in…than 80% of respondents in hospitals strongly agreed that the delivery kit made a difference in their delivery. The project has been approved for a loan of up to $1 million in matched funds from Grand Challenges Canada, to develop a new model for product distribution across the Indian market in three states. Ayzh aims…

Issue An estimated 884 million people worldwide lack access to a safe source of drinking water, with approximately a third residing in Sub-Saharan Africa. In rural Kenya, the main water purification technology available is boiling water but, for many Kenyans, this method is cost-prohibitive and limited by the availability of raw materials. Solution Innovative Canadians for Change (ICChange) has developed a ceramic water filter technology…production facility in Kitale, marketing and selling filters at an affordable price to at-need populations. Outcome CeraMaji Co. is nearing full financial sustainability and was able to recoup more than 75% of the costs of CWF production and rely less on external funding. The team projects it will achieve full sustainability within the next three…

Issue The province of Northern Samar in the Philippines has poor access to safe water. This province lacks infrastructure for water treatment and only two of its 47 villages have safe water sources. During floods, its evacuation centres are unable to provide residents seeking help with an adequate supply of water. Solution The project sought to improve access to safe water, reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases, and raise public awareness on health and hygiene by…of other contaminants (e.g., very high water hardness). They have developed a project website that provides information on the project in lay language, a video and written promotional material. They have also published research articles in Environment Systems and Decisions, Clean Technologies and Environment Policy and two articles in Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS), in April and June 2015. The team intends to apply for Phase II Transition To Scale funding to accomplish the following: ·         improve the bio filter product…