INFECTION-FREE AFRICA

  Health literacy directly impacts health status.Yet most women living in low income and marginalized communities are illiterates,making them vulnerable to a wide range of infectious diseases.We want create a mobile app which will provide health education to pregnant and non-pregnant women in their native languages.

  Most newborns in marginalized communities are not fully vaccinated, making them vulnerable to preventable infectious diseases.We want to create a mobile app that will educate mothers on importance of vaccination and continuously notify mothers on the next vaccination date.

  Poor hygienic practices during delivery and inappropriate cord care in newborns by health workers causes maternal and newborns infections.We solve this by using a Virtual Online Workshop Platform(VOWP) for health workers on their role in preventing maternal and newborn infections.

  Women and newborn refugees are at risk of developing infections due to poor living conditions.So,we develop a Biometric Refugee Identification System(BRIS),for accessing free healthcare.  

        MATERNAL AND NEWBORN INFECTIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 

  Infectious diseases are considered as a global threat.Yet,sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region.It is sometimes called the the infectious continent.

  Every year nearly 1.2 million newborns and 265,000 mothers die in sub-Saharan Africa (PLos Medicine 2010) among  the leading cause of death is HIV and other infections.

  92 percent of HIV infected pregnant women live in sub-Saharan Africa and 23 percent of maternal death is caused by non-pregnancy related infections.in South Africa, 38 percent of maternal deaths are due to HIV, tuberculosis and pneumonia. 

  Death from neonatal sepsis is four times more than HIV death in children in Africa.Yet, neonatal sepsis receives substantially less investment as a public health priority compared other major diseases 

SOLUTION 1 is a mobile application that will provide effective health education to women.We call the App Yhealth. This app will provide videos on good nutrition,infection prevention,gynecological health and practicing good hygiene, in their native languages.The app will also enable midwives to interact with pregnant women in a form of social media platform.

SOLUTION 2 is a mobile application for vaccination. This app will continuously notify and remind  mothers on the next vaccination date. When each vaccination date is due, the app will beep an alarm on the mothers phone so that they do not miss any of vaccination for their newborns. The app will also provide information about each vaccine. 

SOLUTION 3 A virtual online workshop platform (VOWP).This platform will provide training workshops in the form of interactive sessions for health workers on their role in preventing maternal and newborn infections. VOWP will use virtual reality to provide an environment that will stimulate practical training sessions. 

SOLUTION 4 A Biometric Refugee Identification System(BRIS), for women and newborn refugees.We will register refugees on the BRIS using their biographical information and fingerprints. A BRIS machine will be distributed to hospitals closer to refugee camps. With BRIS, refugees can access free healthcare. 

   Our solutions  serves pregnant women, newborns, non-pregnant women, and refugees in marginalized communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

  Solution one(YHealth app) will expand access to high quality healthcare through providing health education and providing a medium of interaction between  midwives and pregnant women, allowing women to be part of decision making concerning their health.

   Solution two(Vaccination app) will increase vaccination rate and decrease the risk of infections in newborns.The vaccination mobile app will give information on each vaccine, notify mothers on next vaccination date and allow mothers report the adverse reaction, if any, after each vaccination to their healthcare provider.

   Solution three(VOWP) will involve the health workforce in promoting good health in women and newborns by preventing hospital acquired infections. The training will be based on the health needs of women and newborns with respect to infection prevention.

   Refugee women and newborns cannot access quality healthcare because they cannot afford it.Yet they at risk of developing infections, and hence, deserve free healthcare. Although there are health policies for refugees to access free and quality healthcare, it is not effective because hospitals fail to identify them as refugees.Our fourth solution(BRIS) will enable refugees access the healthcare they need to survive and thrive.  

   Health is a fundamental human right, but because of illiteracy, most women living marginalized communities in sub-Saharan Africa are not aware they have the right to good health.Coupled with the fact that they live in a high infection zone makes it difficult for these women to access the care they need to survive and thrive.

  We have solutions which dive deep into the problem.The YHealth app and the vaccination app will enable women, both literate and illiterate, access good health for themselves and their newborns.The VOWP will involve the health workforce and BRIS will include refugees.