MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

Save Humanity Survival Kit

One-line solution summary:

This kit has products for disease prevention and a GPS tracker to alert health workers for action on sight of a suspected case or contact.

Pitch your solution.

PROBLEM BEING SOLVED:

Failure to implement good and recommended disease prevention strategies due to limited access to required essential products needed and delayed detection of suspected cases of a disease and their contacts to stop further spread.

PROPOSED SOLUTION:

Adoption of the Save Humanity Survival Kit by all individuals, companies and business houses to enhance effective and efficient implementation of disease prevention measures like hand washing and also alert concerned officials in case of a suspected case or contact in one’s proximity.

IMPACT ON LIVES:

Increase access and availability of essential products like gloves, nose masks, disinfectants and sanitizers needed in the implementation and practice of basic disease prevention measures.
Enhance and quicken the detection of an emerging or/and contagious disease for informed decision making and immediate action taking before it gets out of hand.

What specific problem are you solving?

Implementation of recommended disease prevention strategies like hand washing with clean water and soap still remains a challenge world over with only 60% of the world population having a hand washing facility at their reach and practicing this on a daily basis and in Uganda, it stands at 64% due to limited access to products like soap and clean water.

A number of communicable diseases both old and emerging in the world today have greatly affected health, led to economic losses of countries as they control their spread and impoverished homes in attempt to treat their victimized loved ones yet these can be prevented by early case detection, treatment and embracing recommended disease prevention strategies.

The recommended standards of 90% of the population practicing disease prevention measures on a daily has been evident that it’s only attainable in times of crisis like during this ongoing COVID-19 outbreak despite the efforts of health organizations like health education which is a poor approach for communities to prevent disease outbreaks because it gives chance for the diseases to thrive since it finds humanity unguarded.

Therefore this innovation should be implemented together with the existing measures for better disease prevention outcomes.

What is your solution?

Save humanity survival kit is a package containing a pair of gloves, pair of nose masks, sanitizer, piece of soap, surface disinfectant, disposable hand wipes, jik, detailed information about basic affordable disease preventive measures like steps to follow during hand washing for at least 20 seconds and an electronic device with a GPS location tracker incorporated. It will use both cellular telephone and GPS technology.

This GPS location tracker has an alert button on it and varies in size like a wrist watch and wall attached devices for public places like airports.

How It Works:

This button will be pressed by upon suspecting danger signs and symptoms of an infectious disease like oozing of blood from orifices on one self and/or also when he/she suspects another individual of having a contagious disease based on their visible and expressed signs and will act as an alarm and alert system to the serving organization where the central database will be leveraged then a respective health worker will be alerted for immediate intervention.

In addition, there will be information in the kit that will be used as guidance on how, where and when to use the different products in the kit.

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

People living in the Sub-Saharan region with over 70% of this population being the poor who cannot access and afford these essential products used in the implementation of basic disease prevention measures independently since they cost over 10 US dollars if purchased independently.

Community engagement is being done in this initiative where by five women who didn't have jobs were trained to make sanitizers and liquid soap which are among the products placed in this kit and they have managed to sell off 20 kits though without trackers yet but looking forward to incorporate them on winning this grant fund since some buyers loved the idea even more if with reporting systems in the kit.

Save humanity survival kit aims at cutting costs for the people to purchase these products by packaging them together and selling them at a 15% lower price and also enhance early disease detection and in this way meet their unmet need of accessibility.

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

Save humanity survival kit targets to increase access and availability of essential products like gloves, nose masks, disinfectants and sanitizers needed in the implementation and practice of basic disease prevention measures and quicken the detection of an emerging or/and contagious disease for informed decision making and immediate action taking before a disease gets out of hand to control which is currently poor in Sub-Saharan Africa standing at 74% therefore disproportionately affecting these people since it has the majority poor who cannot access and afford these products.

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

Lira, Uganda

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community

Who is the primary delegate for your solution?

Gimbo Irene, Public Health Specialist, 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.

There a number of innovations that track disease suspects and their contacts in Uganda and world over but Save Humanity Survival Kit is unique in a way that it does it hits two birds with one stone namely:-

Increase access to products used in implementing recommended disease prevention strategies at a lower price than the usual price.
It also then enhances early disease detection, isolation and treatment.

In addition, this will come with a package for those will need to be trained on how to make the products at a commercial and household level hence provide jobs for the jobless youth and women out there also the tracker is placed in the kit as a token for appreciation and to encourage reporting of any suspected case not like others that are for sale.

Describe the core technology that powers your solution.

Save Humanity Survival Kit early disease detection tracking system uses Cellular technology and GPS technology which will help individuals who have purchased the product to press the alarm upon suspecting danger signs and symptoms of an infectious disease like oozing of blood from orifices and/or also when he/she suspects another individual of having a contagious disease based on their visible and expressed signs and will act as an alarm and alert system to the serving organization where the central database will be leveraged then a respective health worker will be alerted for immediate intervention.

Provide evidence that this technology works.

The above technologies are being used in a number of implemented and adopted innovations like:-

Providing safety monitoring for persons with Alzheimer’s or dementiaby making shoes with a GPS device in the heel and family and caretakers can track the GPS Shoe wearer from their smart phone device. Should the wearer wander from home or become lost, the GPS device implanted in the shoe will pinpoint their location for the smart phone carrier.

Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:

Software and Mobile Applications

What is your theory of change?

HOW IT WILL IMPACT PEOPLE:

Increase access and availability of essential products like gloves, nose masks, disinfectants and sanitizers needed in the implementation and practice of basic disease prevention measures.
Enhance and quicken the detection of an emerging or/and contagious disease for informed decision making and immediate action taking before it gets out of hand.

WHY IT WILL IMPACT PEOPLE:

Community engagement is being done in this initiative where by five women who didn't have jobs were trained to make sanitizers and liquid soap which are among the products placed in this kit and they have managed to sell off 20 kits in just a period of one month though without trackers yet but looking forward to incorporate them on winning this grant fund since some buyers loved the idea even more if with reporting systems in the kit.

Select the key characteristics of your target population.

Women & Girls
Pregnant Women
LGBTQ+
Infants
Children & Adolescents
Elderly
Rural
Peri-Urban
Urban
Poor
Low-Income
Middle-Income
Refugees & Internally Displaced Persons
Minorities & Previously Excluded Populations
Persons with Disabilities

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

3. Good Health and Well-Being
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth

In which countries do you currently operate?

Uganda

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

South Sudan
Uganda

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

CURRENT: 20 people

ONE YEAR: > 500 people

FIVE YEARS: 1 million people

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

GOALS:

Achieve over 90% people practicing the recommended basic disease prevention measures in most parts of Africa and world over.
Reduce on the time taken by health workers to detect, diagnose and treat a given disease.

ACHIEVEMENT PLAN:

Make as many as possible kits at an affordable price and recruit young women and youth who are jobless and train them how to make these products at a household and commercial level.
Train and empower people on how to report disease suspects and their contact using this innovation early enough without fear of isolating their victimized loved ones.

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, technical and marketing issues to train people, make the tracking/ reporting devices and scale the product respectively.

How do you plan to overcome these barriers?

FINANCIAL CONSTRAIN:

Currently the funds we use are from our small savings.
Raise funds from grants like this one to develop more machines.
Collect some fees from those first 20 who purchased the product.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE:

Higher more people with skills and experiences to quicken the development process.
Train more people on how to make these products.

MARKETING:

Widen our marketing strategies.

About Your Team

Your Business Model & Funding