By Rocío Mellas
The Canadian government, via its state organization Grand Challenges Canada, has announced that it is to finance eleven ambitious initiatives that could have a major impact on global health. The projects, which were mostly designed to improve the quality of life of women and children, will receive incentive payments of up to $3.1 million CAD (over 2.6 million US dollars).
The GCC funds will be distributed between a scale-up project and ten proof-on-concept projects. The chosen initiatives are:
1. Aina: an accessory that makes it possible to measure six basic blood parameters with a smartphone
The device transforms a smartphone into a mobile blood test and was developed by Jana Care, a company specializing in diabetes and technology based in Bangalore, India.
The innovation, which, among other functions, allows people with diabetes to measure their glucose levels, enables automatic transmission of medical data remotely to health centers.
As this is a scale-up project, apart from the official financing of a million Canadian dollars from the GCC, Aina will receive another injection of the same sum (equivalent to 860,000 USD) from a godfather investor.
2. Fabric glucose sensors made by local communities to diagnose diabetes
It is common in various different regions in India for people with diabetes to be unable to get hold of the strips that check glucose levels in the blood. Achira Labs, however, has developed low cost glucose sensors made of fabric that can be made by regional weavers for their local communities.
The project will cover at least five regions and include work in partnership with non-governmental organizations that support women weavers.
3. Wristbands that measure babies’ temperatures to reduce hypothermia rates (*)
Bempu is developing a new monitoring device that can keep a constant check on the temperature of babies and newborns.
The objective of the wristband – which can generate intuitive alerts so that guardians can regulate the child’s temperature – is to drastically reduce the rates of hypothermia and neonatal infection in an affordable way.
(*) Pending the successful completion of subsidy negotiations.
4. Tele-ophthalmology program with slit lamp
While 70% of the population in India live in rural areas, 90% of care centers are located in urban centers, very far away from their users.
With this initiative, the LV Prasad Eye Institute hopes to democratize eye care. How? Through tele-ophthalmology and a bio-microscope (slit lamp).
This remote care method involves a real time connection between specialists and remote patients and in this case a complete eye exam.
5. Generic low cost vaccination against cervical cancer
As commercial vaccines against cancer of the uterine neck are very expensive, and bearing in mind that 85% of women affected by it die in countries with few resources, Algaeneers Inc. has created a generic, low cost version.
These innovators from Canada, in collaboration with McMaster University, will use algae to produce a vaccine against cervical cancer that will be used in Bangladesh and cost less than a dollar per dose.
6. Mobile application to evaluate disability in a precise and simple manner
The Public Health Foundation of India knows that guides for disability classification are based on a set of complex mathematical calculations and the evaluation of physical parameters and ranges of movement. To simplify the process, they plan to develop a mobile application capable of automating the calculation, providing instant analysis, certification and continuous monitoring of results.
The app will be implemented in India, Laos and Tanzania.
7. Monitoring of Tuberculosis in tribal areas and monitoring of patient adherence via biometric technology
Patients with tuberculosis are scarcely monitored in India and significant resistance to drugs has already built up. In order to revert this situation, in poor tribal areas in Madhya Pradesh, Operation Asha is seeking to train local healthcare providers to offer treatments for tuberculosis.
To achieve this, they will distribute equipment with low cost biometric technology that can adapt to the needs of illiterate users and detect, via patient fingerprints, how the treatment is working.
8. Early intervention program in rural areas for children with developmental problems
In Tamil Nadu, almost half of children with disabilities do not have access to basic education and this issue of exclusion is even worse in rural areas. Amar Seva Sangam’s idea is to train local workers to implement early intervention programs for children in their communities. To coordinate appointments with specialists in other areas, personalized tablets will be used.
9. CleanCube: a project to clean water, save lives and create opportunities
The Ontario College of Art and Design has created a product that can clean water collected in bottles of any shape and size. CleanCube is designed to eliminate the pathogens that cause diseases and produce avoidable deaths.
The objective of this social project is to provide clean water in South Asia, taking advantage of sales of the product in North America. The result of both activities will create economic opportunities and save lives.
10. SAFE: Supporting Addiction-Affected Families Effectively
Families that contain a person who suffers from addictions suffer from great levels of stress. The proposal of Sangath, via the SAFE program, is to adapt and adjust the Five Step Method – interventions based on supporting evidence – so that non-professional advisors can implement it in developing countries.
11. Waste Ventures, training waste collectors with mobile information
In urban centers in India 69 million tons of waste are thrown out each year and a high percentage of that represents a public health threat.
In collaboration with Hasiru Dala and I Got Garbage, this project run by International Development Enterprises seeks to train garbage collectors in Bhutan, India and Nepal to gather, recycle and compost up to 85% of waste generated.
The proposals were considered innovative, accessible ideas because they are prepared to transform the way in which nations approach healthcare issues.
The economic incentive will be delivered as part of the Cooperation Program that was signed in February this year between Grand Challenges Canada and the Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India in an effort to promote long term healthcare projects.
“Both Canada and India share a mutual respect for innovation and the benefits it can bring to our lives and communities. Working together, we can make use of the experiences of our countries through innovation and technology to improve the health of our citizens with good practices,” said Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in Canada.
So far, the North American country has financed 80 innovations in India with a total investment of over 13 million dollars. These projects, generally related to the health of newborn babies and children, are being implemented by institutions that work in India or in collaboration with establishments in that country.
