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Haiti lacks sufficient means to screen women of reproductive age for cervical cancer, the leading cause of female cancer-related death. It has also been shown that Haiti’s working-class, such as factory workers, have the least exposure to health programs and education. In this project, women factory workers will self-swab to test for Human papillomavirus (HPV) with treatment if needed …nurses in the factory infirmary. The model will allow women to receive cervical cancer screening and education directly where they work. The model fosters sustainability as the private sector supports disease screening for employees and training of nurses, and is expected to create broader demand for screening services. Other expected benefits include the ability to provide adequate patient education…

IssueObstetric hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death in low-resource settings. Postpartum hemorrhaging is preventable and treatable with appropriate medication and a clean blood supply. Unfortunately, health workers and patients in Malawi lack responsive systems to deliver the necessary medicines, supplies, and commodities. SolutionImplemented in Malawi, VillageReach sought to address the challenge of transporting, and storing, blood and other heat sensitive products like Oxytocin.The project developed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to deliver blood and other medical commodities. The aim of the project was to redesign the medical supply system by improving efficiency and adaptability to acute health needs.They also conducted focus groups with key community and government stakeholders to determine the viability…

IssueNeonatal mortality rates in Peru have decreased dramatically in the last two decades. However, inequitable differences in neonatal mortality continue to persist between high and low-income communities. Neonatal Asphyxia is particularly troubling in Peru, accounting for more than 20% of neonatal deaths in the country. Though institutional deliveries have increased, management of newborns with asphyxia has been suboptimal due to a lack of…resuscitation. Solution The project aimed to analyze methods of training health workers in urban and rural areas to provide neonatal resuscitation. Through a cluster randomized trial, one group of health workers was provided with face-to-face theory and practice sessions, while the other group received a non-traditional training approach through distance education using information and communication…measuring the proportion of newborns with a heart rate of 100 beats per minute or higher at 2 minutes after birth. Outcome A preliminary analysis found no significant results between the performance of health workers in traditional and non-traditional groups. The group who received traditional training achieved almost 2% better results compared to the non-traditional…

Issue Around the world, unsanitary facilities and equipment play a significant role in the spread of pathogens. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) can result in patient suffering, increased treatment costs, long-term disability and death. Although HAIs affect patients around the world, sanitation plays a more critical role for facilities in developing countries. Many hospitals in the developing world do not have dedicated infection prevention and control staff, nor access to the external detection equipment and consumables needed to ensure surfaces are cleaned on a regular basis. Solution This project developed a simple colour-changing label that helps hospital…peel faster than expected. The team will continue their research with the health centre in the Philippines and will ship new, improved samples of the indicator for further in-hospital testing. The team intends to apply for Phase II Transition To Scale funding to scale up the production of high-fidelity indicators with printing and manufacturing companies.

IssueAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 1.7 million children under the age of 5 die from vaccine preventable diseases. In Cameroon, this trend has been exacerbated in rural areas, where issues of access to healthcare and education continue to impact the vaccination rates of newborns and children. The issue addressed by this project was low immunization uptake among newborns and children under 5 years of age. Television and radio programming, billboards, and town announcements have previously been utilized to raise community awareness. Solution The Kenkō Foundation introduced strategies that complimented other existing vaccination uptake promotion programs in Cameroon. They developed a cost-effective vaccination SMS reminder system. Newborns and young children of vaccination age were registered in the system, which automatically generated a personalized vaccination calendar for each registered child. The system automatically sent an SMS alert to parents each time their child's immunization appointment was approaching. If a parent did not possess a…

Issue Globally, nearly three million neonatal deaths occurred in 2012 in their first month of life, with about two-thirds of the mortality due to infection, low birth weight (LBW) and prematurity. Low-tech but high-impact interventions and commodities used in unconventional ways could save hundreds of thousands of newborn lives. Solution Implemented in Pakistan, this project sought to…study period has been extended because the overall mortality rate in the study (29 per 1,000 live births) was markedly lower than the baseline mortality rate used for a priori estimate of sample size and power (42 per 1,000 live births). The lower-than-anticipated mortality rate in this study has affected the ability of researchers to measure a statistically significant mortality effect. The study team has secured  new funding to extend the enrolment period and achieve statistical power. The investigators will remain blinded to the identity of each treatment group until the study extension period ends. As such, it was not possible to report on the study’s measurable outcomes:  the total number of mothers using the kit contents correctly,…

…developing countries throughout the world (120 million infected and one billion at risk). Infection is transmitted through mosquito bites. The larvae enter the blood stream and migrate to lymph vessels. Adult worms affect various parts of the body through lymphatic systems. Solution The idea was to make a low-cost, highly sensitive, easy-to-use diagnostic tool for the detection of lymphatic filariasis. Early stage detection of the disease reduces the morbidity rate and prevents permanent damage to internal organs. A biosensor was developed for…only. The chip is entirely self-powered, self-contained and self-regulated, and does not need any external pump or valve for its operation. The operation of the LHM was designed for performing the immunoassay and measuring the concentration of the OG4C3 Antigen. Outcome A biosensor was developed that can measure the concentration of OG4C3 Antigen, and the…

…and use has disproportionately impacted slums in Pakistan. Residents of slums often carry misconceptions of contraceptives, and lack: health education, family planning resources, and the finances necessary to afford contraceptives as a whole.The patriarchal structure of Pakistani society provides another barrier as women do not participate in the decision-making process, despite the fact that they are the primary stakeholders for this issue. Additionally, the sensitivity of this topic often leads to community hostility when current practices are questioned.SolutionThe project aimed to overcome the barriers to contraceptive use in two urban slums by developing the ‘Happy Parent Network Group’ followed by the ‘Interactive Voice Response’ (IVR) service.First, the Happy Parent Network Group was implemented: A group of 29 local men and women who resided in the…

Issue Food-borne trematodiases (liver flukes) are one major group of neglected tropical diseases worldwide, with more than 40 million people infected and 750 million (>10% of the world’s population) at risk. Over 100 species of food-borne trematodes are known to infect humans. These infections usually occur focally and are still endemic in many parts of the world, particularly Southeast Asia. Projects using integrated, bottom-up approaches (sometimes called…·         Treatment and IEC – this included a tailored treatment program with intensive education in different age groups·         A school-based IEC and science curriculum ·         Technical training for liver fluke control – community hospital staff and community volunteer training programs were developed and extended to all villages in the Lawa Lake area·         Manual of liver…

…cause of death of young children in the world.    It had previously been assumed that most episodes of non-bloody diarrhoea in children were caused by viruses, for which we have no treatment.  However, recent studies conducted in different low- and middle-income countries have shown that many children with non-bloody diarrhoea presenting to hospital in resource-limited settings actually have treatable bacterial or protozoan infections.  If children with severe gastroenteritis had rapid testing done at the time of hospitalization, those with treatable…living in a low-to middle-income country.  The use of rapid molecular testing led to a drop of 58% in the odds of recurrent diarrhoea within the 60-day follow-up period, compared to standard treatment.  Furthermore, rapid diagnostic testing was associated with an increase of 0.20 in adjusted age-standardized weight (about 250 g for a 10-kg infant)…