Tool/Machine

Subsistence itinerant rice farmers often live in improvised semi-open shacks, thus they are disproportionately more exposed to infectious mosquito bites than the general population. We propose using portable and low-cost huts that are both fire-proof and mosquito-proof to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses, and hence increase productivity of these itinerant farming households. The project will demonstrate the utility of such simple technologies for improving health among transient communities like pastoralists, similarly under-served by conventional health systems.

This innovative project combines two facts of life in Tanzania: the abundance of unused chicken feathers (a waste by-product of food production and not typically recycled) and the prevalence of malaria, a major health burden. Mosquito nets have proven effective against malaria transmission, but are not readily accessible and affordable to every family. The innovators will recycle chicken feathers from markets and people’s homes to produce mosquito nets from keratin fibers (found in hair).

Phase I - Proof of Concept study to evaluate the feasibility of using the Shang Ring, a novel male circumcision device across all childhood age groups namely infants (under 1), 1-5 age group, 6-12 age group and the 13-17 age group.

This project in the Philippines is developing a biosensor system for the rapid and accurate identification of Cryptosporidium microbes in water, a cause of diarrhea that leads to half of all deaths of children under five. Working closely with the Puerto Princesa Water District, provincial health offices and non-profit organizations, the project will help oversee the manufacture and distribution of the Cryptosporidium screening systems, and conduct training to ensure their effective deployment, with aims of introducing the systems in other Asian countries.

Household-level water treatment reduces diarrhoeal disease risk by 36% (compared to 17% for water source interventions). Locally-made ceramic water filters are affordable and effective for removing bacteria but not viruses.  An innovative way of dosing ceramic filter pots with chlorine developed by this project will remove the microbial pathogens and reduce diarrhoeal disease.

In humanitarian emergencies, a lack of access to adequate sanitation is compounded by crowded, unhygienic conditions, where the spread of diarrhoeal diseases can be a major contributor to the overall sickness and death.  This project will develop a sludge treatment system for the safe disposal of excreta in humanitarian emergencies, safeguarding both public health and the environment.

Contaminated water is blamed for widespread diseases, such as rotavirus, diarrhea and dysentery, contributing to approximately a third of deaths among rural school-age children in Kenya.  This project has created a biomass stove featuring an innovative, built-in jacket that can be filled with five litres of water that helps insulate the stove, making it more fuel efficient, and allows the user to boil water and cook simultaneously.

Preventing Infectious Diarrhoea in Kenyan and Indian Communities: Testing a Low-Cost, Point-of-Use Device for Safe Drinking Water

Multi-drug resistant bacteria causes infantile diarrhea in many developing countries. In spite of having access to many powerful antibiotics, many infants die due to the inability to determine the correct antibiotic for the infection in a timely manner. We propose to develop an economical diagnostic instrumentation that is linked to cell phones making it portable and fast enough to address this problem. Follow Ash Parameswaran on Twitter @nanorishi  "

We bring home to Western Kenya an integrated innovation for food-fuel-and-income-security, fine-tuned in villages of Eastern India. Struggling grandmothers and their orphaned grandchildren mechanize their agriculture with self-made bio-fuel. Result: More food, less malnourishment, and Health.