Initiative details
Overview
 
 
Initiative description 
According to the WHO, 80% of the medical devices in Low Income Countries (LICs) are acquired by donation. Given the large absence of technical training or user support, 98% of such equipment is broken within 5 years. Hence the LICs continue to rely on donations in the absence of serious maintenance. High income countries, counting 13% of the global population, account for 76% of global medical device use. Besides, while Africa bears 24% of the global burden of disease, it only has access to 2% of the global physicians. The current COVID situation has revealed the strong need for reliable and affordable wearable physiological signal monitoring solutions. A good health coverage relies on the use of quality medical devices, a fact that is not always met in LICs. The development of new affordable medical device technology can lead to reduce the burden of inequality and inequity in healthcare.

The overall objective of this project is to strengthen the links with partners in the academic and medical sector in Tanzania, Rwanda, Morocco and Ethiopia. The project will serve as an incubator to roll out long-term projects for 2022-25 and beyond.

The ultimate goal is to create a full value chain for the sustainable deployment of affordable medical device technology in African countries, something that is not fully covered now by any public or private entity.