As undergraduate students at Makerere University, Brian Gitta and his classmates regularly missed classes because of malaria.
Even when they went to a health facility, the diagnosis wasn’t always
as fast as they had expected because malaria was sometimes
misdiagnosed.
It was such experiences that made the group of six friends –four
pursuing degrees in Computer Science, one studying Information
Technology and another doing Electrical Engineering — to think of the
idea of developing a low cost and reusable device that could be used to
test for malaria instantly.
“We became determined to turn what was a health challenge for us into a solution,” said Brian Gitta, one of the innovators.
The device known as Matibabu, a name derived from the Swahili word “treatment,” is unique in many ways.
Unlike current testing methods that require a person’s blood to be drawn first
and put under a microscope or through a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) to
establish if they have the malaria parasite, Matibabu tests for malaria
without drawing blood.
Instead, the device is clipped onto the finger of a person and using
light and magnetism, a red beam of light scans the finger to detect
changes in colour, shape and concentration of the red blood cells — all
of which are often affected when the malaria parasite is present in the
body.
The result is then produced within a minute and sent to a mobile
phone which is linked to the device. Another unique feature of the
device is that it does not require specialised training for a person to
operate it.
For these reasons, Mr Gitta and his team believe Matibabu is the
answer to addressing late diagnosis of malaria in low-income settings
like Uganda.
“Matibabu offers prompt, accurate diagnosis and reduces challenges of
power blackouts, the need for trained personnel and time spent on
diagnosis,” said Moris Atwine, a co-innovator of the device.
Matibabu won first
place $29,000 at this year’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation —
an award dedicated to engineering innovation on the continent, which was
announced last month.
“It is a perfect example of how engineering can unlock development —
in this case by improving healthcare. Matibabu is simply a game
changer,” said Rebecca Enonchong, the Africa Prize judge while
announcing the winners.
For the team behind Matibabu, innovations like these are important
for countries such as Uganda and the continent at large as they struggle
to address their high malaria burden.
Over the years, malaria has had a huge economic, health and social burden on Africa, with a 2018 report from the UN Children’s Fund-Unicef showing that the disease costs the continent 1.3 per cent of its GDP.
An estimated 216 million cases of malaria were registered in 2016
alone, according to the most recent data from the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
These cases resulted in about 445,000 deaths, with sub Saharan Africa
contributing at least 90 per cent of people who die of malaria
globally.
Children under the age of five and pregnant women disproportionately
carry the biggest burden of malaria deaths on the continent.
Caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through bites of
infected female anopheles mosquitoes, malaria can also be easily
prevented and cured with timely interventions.
Health experts say prompt diagnosis and treatment of malaria patients
is the most cost effective way to ensure that mild cases of the disease
do not become severe and lead to death.
Early diagnosis also helps to reduce the rate of transmission from one person to another through bites of infected mosquitoes.
Across sub Saharan Africa, there are several prevention interventions
being promoted to reduce the burden of malaria, including the use of
Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets, indoor residual spraying with
insecticides and the use of preventive medicines.
However, coverage of some of these interventions is still low across the region.
According to WHO, in 2016, just about 54 per cent of people at risk
of malaria in sub Saharan Africa were sleeping under a mosquito net —
the primary method of prevention.
“This level of coverage represents a considerable increase since 2010
but is far from the goal of universal access,” WHO said in its 2017
state of Malaria report.
Uganda is one of the countries that have undertaken mass mosquito net
distribution campaign aimed at ensuring universal access. Under the
chase malaria campaign, so far 23 million nets have been distributed
since 2009.
The target is to distribute at least 25 million nets — two nets per household by the end of 2018.
Health Minister, Dr Ruth Aceng said earlier this year at the launch
of the mass net distribution campaign that mosquito nets are being
promoted because they are considered low-cost intervention to prevent
malaria and are user-friendly.
She said currently 95 per cent of households own a mosquito net compared to 47 per cent in 2009.
The first ever malaria vaccine is also currently being tested under a pilot programme in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi.
It is targeting children
aged five to 17 months old. Experts say interventions such as a vaccine
would have the potential to save thousands of lives in Africa and
contribute in meeting the 2030 global targets of reducing case incidence
and mortality rates by at least 90 per cent by 2030.
But to achieve this goal, WHO says a minimum global investment of $6.5billion will be required annually by 2020.
“The $2.7billion invested in 2016 represents less than half of that amount,” said WHO.
Just like Matibabu, there has been a number of promising innovations
emerging from the continent — all aimed at finding a lasting solution to
the malaria problem.
In 2013 for instance, two students from Burkina Faso and Burundi won
the Global Social Venture Competition Award for developing a low cost
mosquito repellant solution called Faso Soap.
Developed from natural herbal ingredients sourced from Burkina Faso,
the solution can be added to locally manufactured soap, which when used
can repel the malaria-causing mosquitoes.
In 2015, a Nigerian innovator also developed a urine malaria test,
which uses a dipstick technology similar to the one used for a manual
pregnancy test.
The dipstick is dipped in urine and within 20 minutes, it can give a
diagnosis. The Matibabu team hopes to have the device on the market
within the next two years. They hope to sell it to hospitals across the
continent for between $100 and $200.
But this price will depend on a market survey they will undertake before the product hits the market.
For now, they are working with Mulago National Referral Hospital to
test and validate the reliability of the device if used against the
current microscopy and rapid diagnostic test methods among malaria
patients.
“We want to obtain information that will be used to improve the
device and eventually roll it out to the market,” said Mr Atwine.
-The EastAfrican
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