Health Tech – Africa Tech Digest

Nigerian telemedicine startup, iWello, is making healthcare available to people living on less than $1 per day

5Oct

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Health Tech, Start-ups

Nigerian telemedicine startup, iWello, is making healthcare available to people living on less than $1 per day

In 2008, Ismail Adejonwo’s mother experienced a troubling stomach ache. The family had no money and was hesitant to take her to the hospital. But as the clock kept ticking, the pain became unbearable. At this point, he had no choice but to take his mother to the hospital. When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor informed them that they had brought her late. She was diagnosed with appendicitis, which was treated successfully with a simple surgery. Entirely unrelated, Dr Fatima Ajayi, Adejonwo’s pregnant family friend, fainted during a ward round in 2019 after working a 12-hour shift. Sadly, her boss dismissed her for the day without further concern about her well-being. Adejonwo decided not to overlook these events. Continue reading Image: techpoint.africa

South Africans Can Now Get Their Digital Vaccine Passes via This Website

5Oct

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Health Tech

South Africans Can Now Get Their Digital Vaccine Passes via This Website

A few days after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the Department of Health would begin rolling out digital vaccination certificates and a few weeks after Health Minister Joe Phaahla claimed that the vaccine passes would be made available “soon” the South African government has launched a website were vaccinated individuals can receive their digital vaccine certificates. “The Department of Health should be rolling out a vaccination certificate which will provide a secure and a verifiable proof of vaccination certificate which can be used to facilitate travel to access establishments and gatherings and other forms of activity that require proof of vaccination,” the president said at the time. “This will also go a long way towards getting a number of international ...

Ramaphosa Announces Vaccine Passports for SA + All The Details

3Oct

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Health Tech

Ramaphosa Announces Vaccine Passports for SA + All The Details

During his address to the nation on Thursday evening, SA President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the Department of Health would begin rolling out vaccination certificates as the government made its final effort to reach its goal of vaccinating over 33-million people by December 2021. Currently, 17-million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with the government targetting inoculating 16-million more people by mid-December. In line with this, Ramaphosa announced the ‘Vooma Vaccination Weekends’ campaign which will see the government ramp up its vaccination drive by opening more vaccination sites over weekends. According to Independent Media, Ramaphosa said that the Department of Health would roll out the vaccine certificates to be used as a form of proof of vaccination...

5 tech tools to help people with handwriting difficulties

29Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Education, Health Tech

5 tech tools to help people with handwriting difficulties

Henry*, a 9-year-old student, was diagnosed with dysgraphia when he was seven years old. He has trouble gripping a pencil, which always leads to hand cramps and fatigue. “Henry’s handwriting was unusual and inconsistent. It was sad to see him struggle to write at home because it seemed like his teachers were punishing him by having him write in class,” Henry’s dad recalls. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), writing necessitates a complex set of motor and information processing skills which includes the ability to organise thoughts coherently and then write them down on paper. However, dysgraphia impairs these abilities in varying degrees. Continue reading Image: Techpoint.africa

Hearing impairments and technology, ReelFruit’s $3m raise, Apple Pay on Paystack

25Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Health Tech

Hearing impairments and technology, ReelFruit’s $3m raise, Apple Pay on Paystack

Thursday, September 23, 2021, was the International Day of Sign Languages. And according to the United Nations, September 23 every year is an opportunity to support and protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of all deaf people and other sign language users. The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) estimates that there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide and more than 80% of them are from developing countries. How do people with hearing impairments communicate? Depending on the degree of severity, they use hearing aids, speech-to-text tools and sign languages to communicate. Continue reading Image: Speaking Fingers

Online Learning & Working Sees Increase in ADHD Symptoms – Expert

19Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Health Tech

Online Learning & Working Sees Increase in ADHD Symptoms – Expert

Technology has enabled remote working, learning and social connections during the Covid-19 pandemic, but increases of up to 80% in time spent in front of screens has seen a rise in ADHD symptoms such as lack of focus, poor concentration, and restlessness among both adults and children. Excessive screen time, either watching television or using devices including laptops, mobile phones and tablets, negatively affects concentration, memory and learning and contributes to problems with sleep, obesity, depression and anxiety – and aggravates the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Psychiatrist Professor Renata Schoeman, convenor of the ADHD special interest group of the SA Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP), said studies in a number of countries, including China, In...

How Unmanned Drones Are Delivering Medical Supplies Across Botswana

10Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Health Tech

How Unmanned Drones Are Delivering Medical Supplies Across Botswana

A collaborative project in Botswana is getting essential and emergency healthcare products to remote communities quicker than ever before through leveraging unmanned drones. The Drones for Health project sees a partnership between the country’s Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), the United Nations Population Fund, and Dutch drone company Avy. Launched in May of this year at the BIUST campus in Palapye, the pilot project aims to demonstrate how drones can expedite the delivery of essential and emergency medical supplies to far-flung communities. Continue reading

SA to Issue Digital Vaccine Passports Next Week: What Will This Mean?

10Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Health Tech, Southern Africa

SA to Issue Digital Vaccine Passports Next Week: What Will This Mean?

According to an announcement made by South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla, digital vaccination passes will be issued to all eligible vaccinated South Africans in less than a week. The country’s Department of Health says that currently, the digital vaccine certificates are “under development.” According to Mia Malan, editor-in-chief of Bhekisisa Health Journalism Centre, the digital certificates will be issued to vaccinated South Africans in about a week. The certificates can be uploaded onto smartphones and will be printable. South Africans will receive a certificate if their vaccination details, such as location, number of dose and type of jab match their EVDS record. Continue reading

UNESCO awards International Literacy Prizes to Innovative Projects Boosting Literacy in Covid Times

5Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Education, Events, Health Tech

UNESCO awards International Literacy Prizes to Innovative Projects Boosting Literacy in Covid Times

The awards will be presented during a virtual International Conference entitled “Literacy for a human-centred recovery: Narrowing the digital divide PARIS, France, September 4, 2021/APO Group/ -- UNESCO has selected six outstanding literacy programmes from Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Mexico and South Africa as winners of its International Literacy Prizes, awarded on the occasion of International Literacy Day (8 September). During the COVID crisis, these programmes continued to help students learn to read and write through accessible technologies. "These programmes have literally changed the lives of thousands of children, young people, women and marginalised adults. Literacy empowers individuals and it expands people’s capabilities and freedom of choice....

Somalia launches Child Protection Information Management System to protect vulnerable children amid COVID-19

31Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, AI, Education, Health Tech

Somalia launches Child Protection Information Management System to protect vulnerable children amid COVID-19

In Somalia, 1.8 million children are at risk of violence, abuse and neglect due to the ongoing conflict MOGADISHU, Somalia, August 31, 2021/APO Group/ -- The Federal Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), launched today an online Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS+) to enhance the protection of the most vulnerable children in Somalia. “Today, we’re taking a crucial step towards keeping the extremely vulnerable children – including children living in the streets, child survivors of sexual violence, children in conflict with the law, abandoned babies, and children without primary caregivers – in our country safe. The CPIMS+ will strengthen our collective ability to identify these children, p...