Alma Sana Wins Healthcare Innovation Award [2017]

Alma Sana, a health organisation in Nigeria is among the four health organisations from developing countries to receive the Healthcare Innovation Award from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Save the Children for its innovation that reduce mortality among children under five.

Selected from 171 submissions from 30 countries by a judging panel comprising health experts from across the globe, Alma Sana, Nigeria won $100, 000 f o r s t i m u l a t i n g p a r e n t s^{'} u p t a k e a n d d e m a n d f o r t h e i r c h i l d r e n^{'} s i m m u n i z a t i o n s, o n e o f t h e w o r l d^{'} s m o s t p o w e r f u l t o o l s f o r r e d u c i n g u n d e r - f i v e m o r t a l i t y a n d m o r b i d i t y, t h r o u g h t h e p r a c t i c e o f t h e c h i l d w e a r i n g a s i m p l e, b r a c e l e t . T h e b r a c e l e t s e m p o w e r m o t h e r s b y p r e s e n t i n g t h e m w i t h a c o n s t a n t a n d v i s u a l r e m i n d e r o f t h e i r b a b y^{'} s v a c c i n a t i o n s c h e d u l e s t h r o u g h s y m b o l s e m b e d d e d i n t h e b r a c e l e t, t u r n i n g t h e i r b a b i e s^{'} ‘ j e w e l l e r y^{'} i n t o a v a c c i n e c a l e n d a r a n d c h e c k - l i s t . T h e b r a c e l e t s w e r e d e s i g n e d w i t h i n p u t f r o m m o t h e r s a n d n u r s e s, a r e w a t e r p r o o f, d u r a b l e, b a b y - s a f e, a n d i n t e n d e d f o r p a r e n t s l i v i n g o n U S$ 1.25 or less a day. As the bracelet’s immunisation reminders are represented through symbols and numbers and not words, this different kind of ‘wearable technology’ is suitable for literate and non-literate parents alike.

Other winners are;

Association for Humanitarian Development (AHD) in Pakistanfor their inexpensive and versatile water filter unit, which won the largest share of the Award
Sinergias in Colombia, the Hardest-to-Reach award winner for a cross-cultural healthcare delivery model for indigenous populations in the Amazon region
ARMMAN in India for their free mobile voice call service providing preventative care information to mothers

With more than five million children dying each year before their fifth birthdays, and many more lacking access to basic healthcare, the fourth annual Healthcare Innovation Award has a special focus on innovations providing healthcare for the hardest-to-reach mothers and children.

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