MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

Automatic Vector Fumigator (AVF)

One-line solution summary:

Automatic Vector Fumigator (AVF) is a rectangular structure made from recycled plastic bottles to attract, detect and kill disease vectors

Pitch your solution.

PROBLEM:

Controlling major disease causing vectors like mosquitoes in their natural habitats like swamps and forests without degrading the environment and intruding on human habitation.

SOLUTION:

Planting Automatic Vector Fumigators at major habitats like forests which will attract a vector to a particular stimuli like light and once in range, it will be detected and release of the chemical stimulated from a storage tank into the turbine chamber for mixing and release into the spray pumps to deposit it onto the vector for destruction.

IMPACT ON LIVES:

Combat major disease causing vectors in large masses which will reduce on the chances of suffering from diseases like malaria which has impoverished many families due to repetitive treatment costs.
Widen market for industries manufacturing chemicals to be used.
Earn a living for over 5 million people in Africa alone who will be in charge of operating and monitoring the machines.

What specific problem are you solving?

Controlling major disease causing vectors like mosquitoes still remains a challenge globally especially in Sub Saharan Africa which stands at 60% which is low and gives room for constant vector borne disease outbreaks which account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases and causing more than 700,000 deaths annually.

Many of these vector-borne diseases are being neglected but account for major outbreaks in the tropical areas that are disproportionately affected yet are preventable, through protective measures and community mobilization which has guided a number of measures which have been put up by WHO and CDC like Indoor Residual Spraying which has not been so effective standing at 70% in Sub Saharan Africa where Uganda lies due to superstitious beliefs like “chemicals cause importance” forcing the 30% population to rebel IRS.

It’s therefore from the above background that the Automatic Vector Fumigator should be implemented since it doesn’t intrude on human habitation, kills vectors in larger masses and based on a previous survey done in Lira district, Uganda it registered over 90% adopt-ability.

What is your solution?

AVF is a machine made from recycled plastics placed outdoors in major vector habitats like forests composed of three parts:-

Chemical storage tank with demarcations to indicate presence or absence of chemical by lighting green and red respectively, connected to a hand held device given to the Village Health Team member for immediate refill if the device lights red.
The turbine chamber to mix the chemical and distribute it into three different tubes that spray the chemical to vectors in a 20 meter radius.
Chamber three comprised of four compartments aligned at the end of the machine each with a specific vector attractant namely light, smell, darkness and moisture.

How It Works:

A vector attracted to a stimulus like light and in range, will be detected and chemical release stimulated from the tank into the turbine chamber for mixing and release into the spray pumps to deposit it onto the vector for destruction.

On reduction of the chemical in the storage chamber, it will light red and so will the hand held device. The VHT member in charge will refill it, document the chemical used and send results to the central data base for effective planning and service delivery.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

POPULATION SERVED:

People living mainly in the tropics and sub tropics who make 45% of the world’s population where vectors harbor and reproduce most.

Based on a research study I conducted on why most of the people in Northern Uganda don’t comply with Indoor Residual Spraying initiative using Lira district as my study area, I found out that people are not comfortable with indoor spraying and it’s from where I developed the AVF and incorporated an entomologist and social worker in this.

A month later as I was reporting my findings of the study to concerned officials, I went back to the community and conducted a survey on the AVF and got over 90% compliance to embrace the innovative and more surveys are being carried out in Eastern Uganda too.

AVF looks at addressing the needs of locals in the tropics who are disproportionately affected by vector borne diseases because they live mostly along vector habitats like swampy areas and forests yet are also affected by IRS in ways like food poisoning encounters and allergic reactions to the chemicals which are aggravated by factors like overcrowding in these houses and poor ventilation.

Explain how the problem, your solution, and your solution’s target population relate to the Challenge.

ALIGNMENT TO THE CHALLENGE:

AVF targets to prevent vector-borne diseases like malaria and leishmaniasis which account for over 700,000 deaths annually and disproportionately affect the tropical and sub tropical areas whose population is comprised of the majority poor. AVF kills vectors on a large scale, is cost effective and environmentally friendly in killing mass vectors outdoor without encroaching on human habitation.

In addition AVF looks forward to improve service delivery in a way that timely reporting and action will be availed to the locals in regard to the vector-borne diseases which are slowly being neglected but cause major outbreaks.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Mbale, Uganda

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model

Who is the primary delegate for your solution?

Gimbo Irene, Lead

More About Your Solution

Which of the following categories best describes your solution?

A new application of an existing technology

Describe what makes your solution innovative.

Automatic Vector Fumigator is a new approach of combating major disease causing vectors in large masses, at a cost friendly and environmentally friendly manner without encroaching on human habitation and comfort.

There are no registered competitors so far but others vector prevention measures have being implemented like Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) which has not been effective in remote areas of Africa like in Northern and some parts of Eastern Uganda due to attached superstitions like "causing bareness and importance" which led to IRS rejection by some people.

It’s therefore from the above background that the Automatic Vector Fumigator should be implemented since it doesn’t intrude on human habitation, kills vectors in larger masses, acts twice faster than human labor used in the IRS process and based on a previous survey done in Lira district, Uganda it registered over 90% adopt-ability

Describe the core technology that powers your solution.

The Automatic Vector Fumigator uses AI which makes it possible to attract the vectors towards it due to the stimuli embedded in it like light, smell, darkness and moisture, detect them in a radius of about 20 meters and stimulate chemical release from it's storage chamber and pour it into a chamber with turbines which will mix the chemical well and then equally distribute it into three pumps that then automatically spray the vectors and destroy them.

This gives it the capacity to act as fast as possible covering work of over 50 men in one spray.

Provide evidence that this technology works.

AI is being used in a number of companies like Alibaba to help farmers monitor crops so as to improve yields and cut costs, Amazon uses artificial intelligence technology that tracks what items you pick up and then automatically charges you for those items through the Amazon Go app on your phone. Since there is no checkout, you bring your own bags to fill up with items, and there are cameras watching your every move to identify every item you put in your bag to ultimately charge you for it. and Baidu that uses this same technology to create a tool that reads books to you in the author’s voice—all automated with no recording studio necessary.

Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
Biotechnology / Bioengineering
Imaging and Sensor Technology

What is your theory of change?

HOW IT WILL IMPACT PEOPLE:

Combat major disease causing vectors in large masses which will reduce on the chances of people suffering from diseases like malaria which has impoverished many families due to repetitive treatment costs in the tropical and sub tropical areas.
Widen market for industries manufacturing chemicals to be used.
Earn a living for over 5 million people in Africa alone who will be in charge of operating and monitoring the machines.

WHY IT WILL IMPACT PEOPLE:

Because based on a previous survey done in Lira district, Uganda the Automatic Vector Fumigator registered over 90% adopt-ability and more surveys are being conducted in Eastern Uganda to increase the reliability of the finding and ease adoption of the intervention because it doesn’t intrude on human habitation like Indoor Residual Spraying to kill vectors, kills vectors in larger masses, acts twice faster than human labor used in the IRS process.

Select the key characteristics of your target population.

Rural
Peri-Urban
Urban
Poor
Low-Income
Middle-Income

Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?

3. Good Health and Well-Being

In which countries do you currently operate?

Uganda

In which countries will you be operating within the next year?

Kenya
South Sudan
Uganda

How many people does your solution currently serve? How many will it serve in one year? In five years?

CURRENT NUMBER: 100 households in Northern and some parts of Eastern Uganda.

IN ONE YEAR: 1000 households in Uganda, South Sudan and Kenya.

FIVE YEARS: > 1 million households across the entire Africa.

What are your goals within the next year and within the next five years?

GOALS:

Achieve over 90% vector control in most parts of the tropics and sub tropics.
Reduce vector-borne disease burden to over 90% in the tropics and sub tropical areas.

ACHIEVEMENT PLAN:

Plant Automatic Vector Fumigators in every village with priority given to high risk areas like those near forests and water bodies.
Ensure effective functionality of the machines and timely reporting and treatment of confirmed cases with a vector-borne disease to prevent further spread.

What barriers currently exist for you to accomplish your goals in the next year and in the next five years?

Currently the major challenges are financial and technical issues that have greatly held the development of the Automatic Vector Fumigator behind with only one so far made.

How do you plan to overcome these barriers?

FINANCIAL CONSTRAIN:

Currently the funds we use are from our small savings and the first machine was donated for free to the pioneer community benefiting from it.
Raise funds from grants like this one to develop more machines.
Collect some fees from those who purchase the product to maintain functionality of the machine, buy chemicals and pay those in charge of operation and maintenance.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE:

Higher more people with skills and experiences to quicken the machine development process.

About Your Team

Your Business Model & Funding

Partnership & Prize Funding Opportunities