Noncommunicable Diseases

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 2.9 million women fell ill with TB in 2012, resulting in 410,000 deaths. TB is classified as one of the top killers of women of reproductive age. Peru has the highest incidence of Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in South America. Almost 16% of TB patients have primary resistance, many of them being women Infected. Women’s health is further affected by their additional responsibility of taking care of families and children. Poor housing conditions contribute to the spread of TB.

Arsenic in drinking water threatens more than 55 million people in Bangladesh. This project aims to conduct a Phase I/II clinical trial to prove that selenium dietary supplements can effect arsenic excretion in humans. The innovation is to supply selenium in fortified table salt which can be inexpensively manufactured within Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, 1 in 5 deaths (600,000 per year) occur due to groundwater arsenic, dubbed by WHO as the largest mass poisoning in history, with some 77 million people at risk. A project based at the University of Calgary, meanwhile, will work to increase the use of Western Canadian lentils in Bangladeshi diets. The crop is rich in selenium, which can decrease arsenic levels and improve health.

Silica dust inhalation causes tuberculosis, cancer and silicosis, affecting millions of people worldwide. In India, cottage industries grinding agate used in jewelry and trinkets expose 20,000+ workers and their families to silica dust.  This project will pilot prevention strategies and locally sourced technical solutions that can be adapted to other industries and occupational diseases caused by dusts.

To increase access to clean cooking technology for the most vulnerable households in Senegal by designing and distributing affordable and cultural acceptable cooking equipments. This will eliminate the cost, supply-chain, and technological barriers.

Household air pollution (HAP) from burning wood, charcoal, dung, agricultural waste and other solid biomass cooking fuels affects 2.7 billion people worldwide – 38% of humanity – and causes 4 million premature deaths a year.  That’s more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) combined.

Urban households in East Africa continue to rely on charcoal and spend up 50% of their income to purchase fuel.  BURN designs and locally mass-produces clean-burning cookstoves that offer a 50 to 70 per cent reduction in fuel consumption, carbon and particulate matter. For more information visit www.burnmanufacturing.com"

Pesticides are used in developed and developing countries to increase crop yield and avoid malnutrition. However, pesticides cause an estimated 26 million poisoning cases annually. To make pesticides safer, we simulate millions of compounds and identify the ones that should target pests without affecting proteins involved in toxicity in humans. Follow Chematria on Twitter @Chematria"

We aim to reduce health complications resulting from indoor air pollution. Sensitization and training in Kiambu County, Kenya by installing 20 biogas units will raise the demand of the bio-gas plants, hence more beneficiaries of clean indoor air byproducts of installations. Follow Africa Harvest on Twitter @AHBFI"

There is a large unmet clinical need to provide an affordable glucose monitoring solution to the 250 million diabetics in developing countries. Jana Care's sensor platform turns any mobile phone into a glucose monitor, enabling cost-effective diabetes management.