Product/Service Development

Gurmessa Tura of Jimma University in Ethiopia will develop a system to help increase community-level demand for maternal health services and establish a tracking system for those who need the health services in Ethiopia.

Zinabu Hadush of Mekele University in Ethiopia will develop a system using mobile-based short message services (SMS) to reach women currently not reached and provide information and education on the use of family planning services and from where and how to get family planning services to improve the uptake and utilization of family planning among women in resource-limited settings in Ethiopia.

Mirkuzie Wolde of Jimma University in Ethiopia will test the use of an innovative mobile-health intervention to enhance the uptake of maternal and child services by providing advice on health issues and information on maternal and child health services, including where they can access these services and how they can access them.

Zeynu Zuber of St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College in Ethiopia will locally develop an external fixator for the treatment of fractured bones with the intention of manufacturing it in Ethiopia in the future to improve its availability and lower the cost for the treatment.

Abel Worku of Jimma university in Ethiopia will develop a hand-washing machine that will help children wash their hands properly and remove microorganisms that cause diseases such as diarrheal disease common among children.

Sakata Abera of Ethiopian Public Health Institute in Ethiopia will develop an integrated infant incubator solution that will be used both as an incubator for premature neonates and as a phototherapy machine for the treatment of jaundiced neonates that can be used in areas where electric power sources are limiting.

Habtamu Abafogi Melkamu of Jimma University in Ethiopia will develop solar phototherapy units for neonatal jaundice treatment for neonates without current access to this treatment due to lack of electric power.

Ashenafi Tazebew of the University of Gondar in Ethiopia will develop a patient early-warning score system for hospitals that will help the healthcare providers in the hospitals and foster timely action and better patient management.

Anne CC Lee and Mandy Brown Belfort of Brigham and Women's Hospital in the U.S. along with Stéphane Sizonenko and Petra Huppi of the University of Geneva in Switzerland will test whether lactoferrin, a breast milk nutrient, can promote growth and reduce injury in the developing infant brain. Of the 15 million annual preterm births, almost a million of the surviving babies have severe neurological defects such as cerebral palsy. However, there are limited treatments available. Breast milk has a positive effect on the infant brain, but the mechanisms for this are unclear.

Travis Bayer of Asilomar Bio in the U.S. is developing a low-cost compound that mimics the plant hormone strigolactone to help eradicate the parasitic weed Striga, which is jeopardizing food security and income in smallholder farms across sub-Saharan Africa. Striga lies dormant in arable soil, and is activated by strigolactone produced by plants including staple crops such as maize and rice. Striga then attaches to the plant's roots, steals water and nutrients, and produces toxins, and can completely devastate crops.