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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)…

…meaning that fewer than 10% of affected children receive treatment in these regions. Endoscopic treatment of hydrocephalus is advocated in low-resource areas, because this approach can cure up to 70% of cases without lifelong dependence on an external drain. However, neurosurgical training in this procedure is hindered in these areas by a lack of experts for teaching. Solution The aim of the project was to use telesimulation – connecting two remote hospitals via Skype –  so surgeons in Ghana could be educated and…

Issue Women in urban slums lack access to care and face major health inequities. In the Kenyan slum of Kibera, women often do not know their HIV status until they receive antenatal care (ANC). Furthering this issue is the fact only 10% of women in slums access ANC. The inaccessibility of ANC leads to high…apps that allowed health practitioners to diagnose and treat mothers and their babies at the point of care. The Mobikit’s ICT platform was loaded with educational information for health workers to provide care for women with and without HIV. A health station was set up in Kibera and home visits were conducted routinely using Mobikits. The project provided spirulina, a nutritional supplement, to 300 HIV-positive women to boost their nutritional status. Using…

Issue Many people in both the developed and developing world have mobility deficits, due to neurological injury. Motor deficits influence performance of even simple tasks and better outcomes can only be achieved through better diagnosis and management of motor disorders. Solution The project tested the reliability of a new, portable device (MSM) to measure spasticity…spasticity measurement. Short-term intervention trials are also being conducted to assess the effectiveness of the measure in identifying changes in motor performance after targeted clinical interventions. Outcomes For clinical stakeholders, the project resulted in an increase in awareness about the importance of using valid and reliable clinical assessments in neurological practice, a better understanding of…also felt that it was easy to perform the assessment with proper training. Many commented that they were ready to use the new assessment in their clinical setups, if available. For patient stakeholders, the main outcome was a higher level of patient care, based on the availability of the new measure that more accurately reflects…