#BUILDBACKBETTER START-UP INNOVATION CHALLENGE:
WOMEN, COVID-19 & DIGITAL HEALTH
Thank you to all the applicants of our #BuildBackBetter Start-Up Innovation Challenge! We received 127 entries from 29 countries.
Our judges had a very difficult task of reviewing all of the innovations but selected our finalists and winners! Read on to learn more about our incredible women innovators and their solutions.
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OUR WINNERS
Join us in congratulating the winners of our #BuildBackBetter Start-up Digital Innovation & AI Challenge!
MEET OUR FINALISTS
Meet the finalists who pitched for the chance to $10,000 financial support and a €10,000 marketing support packaged from InspiredMinds
@devinvogue
Ghana
Our innovation seeks to provide:
1. A tech and digital-focused curriculum in the study materials of students’ health trainees so they can develop digital solutions from school, implement and incorporate them in the systems when they come out.
2. Train and upgrade the digital skills of active female healthcare professionals through workshops and seminars.
@Clafiya1
Nigeria
Clafiya is a digital platform that connects patients in semi-urban and rural parts of Nigeria to Community Health Workers (CHWs) to provide home-based primary care services, including maternal and child health services for pregnant and lactating women. With our short USSD code, women in Nigeria with limited access to primary care services can register, pay and request for the nearest registered CHW to administer home-based services; thus creating an opportunity for CHWs to impact and save more lives, especially for women living in rural or hard-to-reach communities.
@varsha_v1234
India
A side effect of India’s tough stance on COVID-19 has been that millions of children are missing out on vital vaccines they should receive in the first year of their life. We already know immunization is a gendered issue in India: unlike in most other countries, in India, the under-5 death rate for girls is higher than for boys. We use a proven, cost-effective digital method to “nudge” mothers to access maternal healthcare and to get their children immunized: customized, localized, and targeted SMS reminders. Our meta-analysis estimates an average effect size of 8% points increases in overall vaccination rates.
@Birthing_Bridge
South Africa
Birthing Bridge is a solution to bridge the gap in maternal care during Covid-19 and beyond by offering a platform for expecting mothers to self-care and triage through a three-pronged approach of information dissemination, text and call platform, and triage network. It aims to offer education and empowerment to pregnant mothers through the text and call service, reduce travel and transportation barriers by offering remote testing and mobile antenatal checks, and triage conditions early so maternal death risks, such as preeclampsia, can be identified and treated before it is too late.
@swasthanaari
Nepal
Swastha Naari is developing a simple mobile-based application targeting both pregnant women and health workers. ANC tracker designed for health workers helps identify pregnant women in their catchment area for antenatal checkups and helps health workers, especially auxiliary nurses, midwives, to ease their workload. Our application consists of features like diet plan, fitness/yoga, consultation with a doctor directly through video meetings etc, that support pregnant women in receiving technically sound health care. Our vision is to provide continuum care that women require in their reproductive phases despite any pandemic in the present or the future.
@wheelsfor_life
Kenya
We are a team that Is dedicated to providing prompt triage consultation and transfer of pregnant mothers from home to hospitals to prevent delay in accessing maternal health care and reduce maternal morbidity.
CALL TO ACTION
Advance gender equity through digital and AI solutions for global health security and health systems
Gender inequities in global health security are undermining the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the achievement of health for all. Strong health systems that can withstand the next global health crisis must be built on equality, and gender equality is fundamental. Strong health systems harness the best possible talent, expertise and diverse perspectives in decision making. Currently, women are the vast majority of health and social care workers but largely excluded from decision making, to the detriment of everybody's health.
To ensure that health systems are better prepared for the next crisis, WGH, supported by the Novartis Foundation, is hosting a digital innovation challenge.
MEET OUR JUDGES
Meet our two judging panels that have been given the difficult task of selecting our six finalists and choosing the winner of the #BuildBackBetter Start-Up Innovation Challenge.
