New Technology in Uganda Saving Lives

In Uganda, there are high infant and maternal mortality rates. People just don’t have access to good healthcare. It’s too costly, too far away, or just not available. Even if there is a healthcare facility, there is a slim to none chance of there being an ultrasound machine available. Instead, a 100-year-old device is used to just monitor the baby’s heartbeat. A Ugandan man named Josh and some of his friends decided that something should be done. So, they hooked this old, 100 year old machine up to a new phone app and the machine can now diagnose, alert, and suggest courses of action for expecting moms. As if this couldn’t get any better, two other men invented an app for malaria diagnosis because malaria is

responsible for more deaths in children under the age of 5 than AIDS/HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. The app works by using a light sensor that can detect malaria from white blood cells. Big props to these guys and their new technology!