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Issue Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of childhood mortality globally but progress in reducing deaths has been impressive: from 4.5milion/year in the 1980s to 800,000 in 2012. With the second highest concentration of under-five deaths, Nigeria is a global priority for new cost-effective interventions. Solution This project used an innovative model for prevention of diarrheal deaths with oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc that uses faith networks in Abia States, Nigeria, to identify and train a cadre of "ORS moms". These women serve to deliver behaviour change messages and act as community-based suppliers of ORS and zinc, two products essential in preventing deaths due to diarrhea. Thirty “ORS moms” were identified and trained in the project. A user-friendly toolkit guideline,…potential scalability. Outcome The project team found that training and development of the cadre of “ORS Moms” at the community level was feasible and well-received, and will significantly contribute to increased use of ORS and Zinc. Networking with a faith-based organization, such as the Nigerian Inter-Faith Action Association (NIFAA), and partnering with Ministry of Health…

Providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services to deaf citizens of Ghana. Involving 630 deaf people in 6 project districts, goals include a database on special needs, a 50% increase in deaf citizens with access to SRH services, contraceptive, safe clinical abortion services and new SRH information and services in 12 hospitals and …

…sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these diseases co-exist and often share symptoms, yet clinicians in most rural health facilities rely on symptomatic diagnosis, because of inadequate healthcare facilities. To address this challenge, a simple system that permits accurate diagnosis, in situations where NTDs co-exist and share clinical symptoms, is desirable. Solution The project team proposed to use silkworms for generation of diagnostic proteins for the development of a cheap, easy-to-use and instrument-free multi-diagnostic system. The diagnostic proteins produced by silkworms act as antigens, and can be…

IssueIn Kenya, birth asphyxia accounts for 31% of all neonatal hospital admissions, and causes 10,000 deaths annually. Asphyxia can result in death or brain damage for those who survive. Therapeutic cooling is a well-recognized treatment option for asphyxia; however, many LMICs cannot afford the cost of the specialized equipment required for treatment. Solution The Miracradle was a specialized neonatal bed designed to provide therapeutic hypothermia for neonates suffering from birth asphyxia. The Miracradle included phase change materials to help regulate body temperature at the optimum temperature of 33°C. This technology required minimal electricity and supervision to function effectively. Outcome The project demonstrated the efficacy of Miracradle in maintaining a desired body temperature of 33°C. Infants who used the Miracradle demonstrated markedly better…

…under the age of five annually, almost all in low-resource countries. Many of these deaths could be avoided with timely diagnosis and treatment, which emphasizes that new methods to assess patients are needed. Solution The University of British Columbia research seeks to deploy affordable, diagnostic, mobile applications to reduce mortality rates. Point-of-care sensing is combined with…devices: availability, computation, display and sensors.   Outcome A prototype pulse oximeter device has been developed. This prototype communicates with a mobile software that integrates decision rules for pneumonia diagnosis, treatment checklists and basic case management functions. The usability and ethical impact on community health workers was evaluated in South African townships. Acceptance was high and no significant usability issue was identified. Technical developments, user evaluations and conference publications have been disseminated through numerous journals, such as IEE Explore and PLOS One in January 2014 and…

Current approaches to post-Ebola rebuilding efforts are not focused on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) and its relation to mental health (MH), nor are they culturally and contextually adapted. Using mobile phone technology to deliver adapted ASRH education in the form of text messaging, this project will aim to close the gap between mental …

To overcome the key structural barriers preventing access to timely, quality care in rural areas, Muso and its government partners have designed Proactive Community Case Management (ProCCM), an system for healthcare delivery that is optimized to reach every patient at an early stage of illness. ProCCM deploys proactive doorstep care: community health workers (CHWs) actively search for…

Violet Health (USA) has developed a fortified biscuit that is intended to increase iron and folic acid supplementation adherence among India’s annual 10.4 million pregnant women. Optimized for iron absorption, it was designed in consultation with Indian physicians, nutrition researchers and pregnant women as a culturally appropriate food, reversing the negative associations of the IFA pill format (such as unpleasant/metallic…

StrongMinds treats depression in women in Uganda through a community-based talk therapy model based on group interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-G). Using a task-shifting model, StrongMinds trains lay community workers in IPT-G, equipping them to run talk therapy groups by guiding structured discussions to help depressed women understand how their current relationships and depression are linked. StrongMinds is adapting their treatment model…

Targeting young mothers with children under the age of three who live in informal settlements in Nairobi, the use of mobile phone technology will help track and respond to young children's developmental progress. Parents/caregivers will be trained on how to record developmental milestones achieved by their children in real time, allowing developmental delays to be identified…