WHCC Affordable Health Innovations

We are glad to begin to welcome some academic institutions to the WHCC Affordable Health Innovations Exhibit and Awards Program. Sujit Jangam, a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Center for Innovations in Global Health Technologies, will present on a program they are developing that allows for point-of-care HIV testing for infants.

Efficient and affordable HIV testing is problematic in resource-limited settings. Blood samples collected from infants in rural sites must be transported to urban laboratories for HIV testing. This can cost up to $50 per test, require 4-5 hours of processing time though complex equipment and trained personnel.

Jangam is working on different approach that uses Fast Isolation of Nucleic Acid (FINA) technology that makes results available in the same visit, can be performed at collection sites with minimal infrastructure and is less expenseive.

We’re excited to welcome Mr. Jangam to the program!

The WHCC Affordable Health Innovatons Exhibit will feature a unique new organization called Solar Ear, which will travel all the way from Brazil to be part of the program.  Howard Weinstein, a social entreprenuer and Ashoka Fellow, will attend with a user of the solar-powered hearing aid the organization develops.  The rechargable battery used in the digital device is recharged by solar power, and the device meets a need for the hearing impaired, especically in developing countries.

According to the World Health Organizaiton, 7% of world population will ecnounter some degree of hearing loss, totaling 278 million people. The prevalence of hearing impairment in Latin America varies between 5 and 9%.

The Solar Project Ear develops rechargeable digital hearing aids.  They  developed the first rechargeable digital hearing aid costing under $70US and first rechargeable hearing aid battery which costs $0.50 but lasts 2 to 3 years.

The WHCC Affordable Health Innovations Exhibit and Awards Program is pleased to announce the participation of Kopernik, a new venture launched on January 25.  Kopernik is an online platform that allows the most progressive technologies to reach poor people in developing countries. The goal is to accelerate development through ‘leapfrogging’ or skipping inferior, less-efficient technologies and practices and moving directly to more advanced ones. Kopernik show-cases innovative products (such as solar powered products and water purification devices) and thereby provides a menu of options accessible to local organizations in developing countries. The organizations then develop short proposals explaining how they can utilize the products to overcome development challenges and impediments to growth. The public in turn funds the most promising proposals in order to make them a reality.

Some of the innovative projects Kopernik is working with include a solar-powered hearing aid, sef-adjusting eye glasses, and a straw that works as a water filter.  Please visit the Kopernik Web site to learn more about this exciting new organization. We hope you can join them at the 7th Annual World Health Care Congress.

Welcome everyone to a special blog decicated to the WHCC Affordable Health Innovations Exhibit and Awards Program. This program is an exciting component of the World Health Care Congress series, a set of global health care meetings designed to improve health care delivery. This special exhibit will kick off at the 7th Annual World Health Care Congress, April 12-14 in Washington, D.C. We will feature innovative organizations from around the world that are bringing affordable innovations to the world’s underserved populations. Welcome.

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