ISTOCKAfterexperiencingseveralboutsofmalaria,whichalmostcosthimhisuniversityeducation,BrianGita,26,tookthedecisiontousetechnologytohelphimandothersbydevelopingasmartphoneappthatcandiagnosemalariawithoutabloodtest.
Gita,acomputersciencegraduatefromMakerereUniversityinKampala,Uganda,isoneofagroupoffourcomputerscientistswhocreatedtheapp,knownasMatibabu(Swahiliwordfortreatment).
Hesaidtheapphassofarprovedtobe80percentaccurateindiagnosingmalariaandwassimpletouse,producingadiagnosisresultwithinonetotwominutes.
TheappwentontowintheprestigioustopprizeforengineeringinnovationrecentlyfromtheRoyalAcademyofEngineeringataneventheldinNairobi,alongwithacashprizeof$32,000.
Chineseassistance
Additionalfundsof$65,000fromChina’sMinistryofScienceandTechnologywerealsograntedthisyeartoGitaforhisteamtodeveloptheappfurthertoitsfullpotential.
“Wehopebythetimewehavecompletedourpilottrials,theappcanhaveaneffectivenessrateof99percent.TheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)recommendstheratetobeatleast85percent,”saidGita.Currently,histeamisworkingwith14hospitalsinUgandaandafewinKenya,andtheapphasdiagnosedmorethan300people.
“Chinesefundswillgoalongway[towardourresearch].Ifwecanreachthetargetof2millionpeople,thenwearewinningthewaragainstMalaria.Webelievewecan[doit],”saidGita.
AccordingtoChina’sAmbassadortoKenyaSunBaohong,partoftheChinesefundingtoAfricawillinvolvescienceandtechnology.
“Chinawilldefinitelyfundgoodresearchideasoutsideitsborders.WearethebiggestdonortoAfricaanditslargesttradingpartner,”saidtheChineseambassadorwhowasappointedtoherpostonlyinJune.“ScienceisvitaltoAfrica’sdevelopment.Icannotreallytellyoutheamount,butsurelyitwillruntohundredsofmillions[ofdollars]worthofnon-payablegrants.”SheaddedthatscienceandtechnologyisanimportantpartoftheChina’sBeltandRoadInitiative.
Uniquefunction
Theappusesacustom-madepieceofhardwarecalledmatiscope.Itconsistsofaredlight-emittingdiodeandalightsensorwhichcanpiercebeyondtheskintoreachtheredbloodcells.Afterapersonhasplacedhisfingerintothematiscopedevice,thediagnosticresultscanbeseenviaasmartphoneconnectedtothedevicewithintwominutes.
Laboratorytestsusuallytakeaboutthreehoursonaverage.“Youdonotneedtodrawbloodanditispainless,”saidGita,whosaidtheappiscurrentlytheleaderofitskindworldwide.
“Weareinthefinalphaseoftestingthekit,andarealsolookingathowtoimproveonaccuracylevels[incollaboration]withtheMulagoNationalReferralHospitalinUganda.Wewillsoonbecommercializingourkitduringascheduledrollout,”saidMorrisArtwine,oneoftheco-foundersoftheapp.“Matibabualsosavestime,asconsistentpowerblackouts[inthecountry]affecttheaccuracyofdiagnosticresults.”
HeconfirmedthathisgroupisinclosecollaborativediscussionswithseveralhospitalsandhealthfacilitiesacrossAfrica,sothatitcanreachouttoasmanypeopleaspossible.
Whilespecificcostsarestilltobedetermined,Gitasaidthattheappanddeviceshouldretailforlessthan$10whenitentersthemainstreammarket.
Malariamenace
ThelatestWHOmalariareportshowsthattherewereanestimated216millioncasesofmalariain91countriesandregionsworldwidein2016,upfrom211millioncasesintheprecedingyear.Theestimatedglobaltallyofmalariadeathsreached445,000in2016comparedto446,000thepreviousyear.
Whiletherateofnewcasesofmalariahadfallenoverall,thetrendhaslevelledoffandevenreversedinsomeregionssince2014.Malariamortalityratesfollowedasimilarpattern.Thereportsaidthatanestimated90percentofallthesemalariacasesanddeathsworldwidecontinuetoemanatefromAfrica.Fifteencountriesintheworld,14ofwhichareinSub-SaharanAfrica,carry80percentoftheglobalmalariaburden.
National-levelsurveysinAfricashowthatonlyabout34percentofchildrenwithafeveraretakentomedicalserviceprovidersinthepublichealthsector.
Commentingonthefindingsofthereport,PedroAlonso,DirectoroftheWHOGlobalMalariaProgram,said,“Wehopethisreportservesasawake-upcallfortheglobalhealthcommunity.Meetingtheglobalmalariatargetswillonlybepossiblethroughgreaterinvestmentandexpandedcoverageofcoretoolsthatprevent,diagnoseandtreatmalaria.Robustfinancingfortheresearchanddevelopmentofthenewtoolsisequallycritical.”
TheWHOGlobalTechnicalStrategyforMalaria2016-30callsforreductionsofatleast40percentinmalariacaseincidenceandmortalityratesbytheyear2020.
“TheWHOrankedUgandaasthecountrywiththehighestmalariacasesat10.3millionperyear.Wehopeourkitwillgoalongthewaytowardaddressingthisissue,”saidArtwine.ThelaunchofMatibabulaterintheyearisexpectedtotakeplaceinallofthesixEastAfricaCommunitycountries.OfficialsfromChina’sMinistryofScienceandTechnologyareexpectedtobeattheevents.Oncelaunched,itwillbefullycommercializedin2019.
Kenya’sHealthCabinetSecretary(Minister)CecilyKariukiwelcomedtheinnovationinthehealthsector.
“Currenttechniquesusedintestingmalariaarestillsomewhatoutdatedandtimeconsuming.Intheprocess,manypeoplelosetheirlivesbeforetheycanreceiveadiagnosis.Sometimesmisdiagnosisisalsoaconcern,”shesaid.“Wedowelcomethisapp[Matibabu]forusenextyearonceitisfullyoperational.”SheaddedthatEastAfricahasbeenbadlyhitbymalariaandtheneedtoforgepartnershipstodealwiththedisease,includingwithChina,isvital.“Nocountrycangoitalone,”shesaid.
Artwinepredictsthatinthenexttwoyears,theappwillalsogainapresenceinSoutheastAsiawheremalariaremainsaseriousproblem.
**ReportingfromUganda
***Commentsto
80%Matibabuapp’saccuracyindiagnosingmalaria
90%ofmalariacasesanddeathscomefromAfrica
445kpeoplediedfrommalariaworldwidein2016
216mlncasesofmalariain91countriesandregionsworldwidein2016
Theappusesacustommadepieceofhardwarecalledmatiscope.Itconsistsofaredlightemittingdiodeandalightsensorwhichcanpiercebeyondtheskintoreachtheredbloodcells.