The World Well being Group in Africa is holding digital hackathons and providing as much as $20,000 in seed-funds to finalists with digital options to stem COVID-19.
The regional workplace of the UN company accomplished its first problem earlier this month and can host a second, for French talking Africa, in coming weeks, WHO’s Technical Officer Moredeck Chibi instructed TechCrunch.In keeping with Dr. Chibi, the WHO-AFRO Digital Hackathon collection goals to immediate tech purposes — with specificity to Africa — to curb the unfold and adverse influence of COVID-19 — which started to spike on the continent in March.
For the primary digital problem, WHO chosen individuals through an internet software course of and break up them into groups through Zoom. Teams had been tasked with growing scalable ideas aligned with WHO’s present COVID-19 response technique, which incorporates an infection prevention and management, case administration, surveillance and continuity of well being companies.
The winning hackathon group, led by Ghanaian Entrepreneur Laud Basing, developed a screening instrument idea — operable through cell app or USSD code — that maps COVID-19 take a look at circumstances, classifies them in keeping with danger and gives information to nationwide authorities to plan responses. The staff will obtain $10,000 from the WHO to pilot their idea, and help in finding extra funding and experience.
Picture Credit: World Well being Group Africa
Early in March, the continent’s COVID-19 circumstances by nation had been within the single digits, however by mid-month these numbers had jumped — main the WHO’s Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti to sound an alarm on the virus at a March 19 press convention. She famous firstly of March there have been solely 5 international locations in Sub-Saharan Africa with circumstances. That had grown to 30 by mid-month and now stands at 44.
By the World Health Organization’s stats Monday there have been 6023 COVID-19 circumstances in Sub-Saharan Africa and 240 confirmed deaths associated to the virus, up from 463 circumstances and eight deaths on March 18.
The toughest hit nation thus far, South Africa, has gone right into a authorities enforced lockdown.
As COVID-19 spreads in Africa’s main economies, policy-makers and founders have regarded to the continent’s tech sector to shapes responses.
The central banks of Ghana and Kenya have turned to mobile-money as a public-health instrument, adopting measures to shift a higher quantity of transactions towards digital funds and away from money — which the World Well being Group flagged as a conduit for coronavirus.
Africa’s largest incubator, CcHub, launched a fund and open call for tech projects aimed toward curbing COVID-19 and its social and financial influence.
And Pan-African e-commerce firm Jumia has provided African governments use of its last-mile supply community for distribution of provides to healthcare services and employees.
The WHO’s COVID-19 associated Africa hackathons aren’t the primary time the group has turned to the continent’s techies. In 2019, the Geneva based mostly physique launched the WHO Innovation Challenge — a contest to form “home-grown improvements with potential to resolve African well being challenges”. It drew 2400 entries from 44 international locations.
These desirous about pitching an answer to the World Well being Group’s subsequent hackathon in response to COVID-19 can contact WHO’s regional Africa workplace.
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