Africa has a challenge in its health sector despite the amount of money pumped into that sector. Every year we witness an increase in the number of people who leave the continent for medical tourism in countries like India and the United Kingdom. Presidents in different parts of the continent are putting a lot of effort in making their countries a haven for sick people. However, our efforts seem not to be enough in making our continent the pride of health care.
The good news is many smart Africans are going out of the norm in providing us with amazing technological advancements in the health sector. We have listed some of the best health initiatives that are saving millions of lives.
The CardioPad
Cameroon enjoys the CardioPad produced by a company called Himore Medical. The product is a wireless initiatives that provides an efficient monitoring of the human cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The products take care of the low physicians to patients’ ratio in the country by providing successful examinations of people in need of CVD. Arthur Zang developed the medical tablet that picks signals generated by the expansion of the heart and rhythmic contraction of the heart.
Aviro Health
In South Africa, there is a health initiative that is geared towards making medical treatment better. The digital application is used by healthcare professions in Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa that assists in the taking care of patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. The technology offers training platforms and e-learning for physicians in the form of videos and e-books.
The Tutu Van
Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation started the “Tutu Tester”, a mobile clinic in South Africa that offers people HIV testing. The Tutu Van also screens for diseases such as hypertension or diabetes and targets people in the places where there is a high HIV/AIDS prevalence. This health initiative started because of the high prevalence of tuberculosis and HIV in the country. The Tutu van drive around the country to train staff and handle testing of diseases where there are no adequate health facilities.
Deaftronics
Botswana manufactured the first solar-powered hearing aid unit called Solar Ear. Solar Ear decreases the amount of time a patient visits a care center outside Botswana or in the country. The product consists of a solar battery charger, four rechargeable batteries, and a digital hearing aid. The hearing aid is solely for people living in rural areas and poor patients who may not be able to offer a quality medical help.
Matibabu
Malaria is one of the deadly killer diseases in Africa. While the world awaits malaria vaccine to reach everyone, Uganda has Matiscope. Brian Gitta is the developer who designed this noninvasive product that detects malaria within two minutes without blood test. Matiscope shines its red beam of light on a person’s finger to detect malaria parasites. A lot of people would gladly warm up to its product without going for laboratory tests especially those in poverty-stricken areas in the continent.
Which of these products do you think will help millions of people?
