Burkinabe startup AINO Digital SAS has developed a multi-faceted digital identification bracelet. Called SAUVIE, the device is equipped with a QR code where personal health information and contacts of important people to reach in case of emergency are stored.

With this initiative presented to the public on February 23, AINO Digital SAS wants to ensure that everyone has their personal health information in case of emergency. Scarlett Zongo (pictured, left), CEO of AINO Digital SAS, explains that the solution is "an application for first responders such as firefighters and doctors. Thanks to SAUVIE, the patient's relatives are alerted of the nature of the emergency and the health facility where he or she is being treated". AINO Digital SAS says that for personal safety, the QR codes are encrypted and can only be read by firefighters and health workers using a special device.

AINO Digital SAS donated nine bracelet models to the public when presenting the device. The basic annual cost of the SAUVIE system is $6.83 plus the price of the wristband on which it is mounted (between $1.2 and $1.71). Three billable options are also available with the basic subscription: Alerting the employer in case of emergency ($8.54), Alerting the insurance company ($3.42), and Alerting a relative ($1.71). If the bracelet is stolen, lost, or damaged, the owner must report it to AINO Digital SAS so that the QR code can be canceled. Another one is automatically generated and integrated into the new bracelet.

Supported by Orange Burkina Faso, which does not charge any data fees when reading the QR code, the startup is working with the Ministry of Health to get the solution to be used in health centers and local security services.  Scarlett Zongo is convinced that her innovation can improve the health system in Burkina Faso.

Adoni Conrad Quenum

Access to health care has relatively improved in Africa over the past decade. However much remains to be done. Initiatives are multiplying on the continent to bridge this gap.

Smart Africa, an alliance of 32 African countries and international organizations committed to the digital transformation of Africa, and The Commons Project Foundation (TCP) announced last February 16 a partnership to accelerate the delivery of digital health in Africa.

Through this collaboration, the members of both partners have committed to supporting and working on the design, development, deployment, and operation of digital public health infrastructure for Africans. They are also engaging in various digital health pilot projects aimed at strengthening African health systems.

One of the main focuses of the partnership is the SMART Health Card, which allows populations to securely share a verifiable version of their immunization record via a QR code. The innovation being implemented in Rwanda and Kenya is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We believe that the future of healthcare in Africa is digital-first, powered by mobility. This partnership will go a long way in delivering world-class health services to Africa’s citizens such as SMART Health Cards,” said Lacina Koné (pictured), CEO of Smart Africa.

Access to health care remains low in many African countries. The ratio of professionals per 10,000 inhabitants is still far below the WHO standards, which recommend a minimum of 23 health workers to ensure a basic quality of service. Digital technology comes as the solution for Africans to improve health care coverage. For Joe Mucheru, the Cabinet Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of ICT, Innovation, and Youth, the widespread adoption of digital health has the potential to revolutionize healthcare in the same way that the M-Pesa payment system has revolutionized financial inclusion.

Adoni Conrad Quenum

Digital Health enterprise -The Medical Concierge Group- launched in 2018 its solution to address the problems of the remoteness of health facilities, long waiting lines, low doctor-to-patient ratios, and the lack of access to credible health information. Called Rocket Health, the service is the fruit of a collaboration between Dr. Davis Musinguzi, Dr. John Mark Bwanika, Dr. William Lubega, and Dr. Hope Achiro. It is accessible 24/7 via USSD and SMS on basic mobile phones, WhatsApp, or directly online on smartphones, tablets, or computers.

“The doctor-patient ratio in Uganda now stands at one to twenty-five thousand. That means so many people cannot access quality health care, and it’s not only the doctors. The pharmacists and the pharmacy services or the laboratory services are also really difficult for most people to come by. And if they do, there are long waiting lines in the traditional settings,” said Hope Fortunate Achiro, Director of pharmacy services at Rocket Health.

Rocket Health’s users can get teleconsultation with doctors, contact a medical team for home lab samples, have medications delivered, and have children vaccinated, among other things. They can also, through the call center, get support on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues or access an e-shop where they can buy and have delivered products such as condoms, emergency contraception, HIV self-tests, etc. The services are delivered in a private and confidential environment.

Rocket Health is currently available in Kampala. The solution recently received six months of incubation in 2021 at the Next Health Accelerator (NHA) -a health innovation accelerator designed by Intrepid Entrepreneurs for African entrepreneurs- and a $15,000 seed fund. Its promoters want to expand across the country, starting with Greater Kampala, then enter Kenya and Nigeria, where the service already has a registered legal presence. Rocket Health has won several awards, including  Uganda's 2021 Start-up of the Year and 2021 Best Health Startup of the Year at the Kampala Innovation Week. The event was organized in partnership with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).

Ruben Tchounyabe

After coming up with the idea for his app while being treated in France, he went on to win RFI’s Africa 2020 App Challenge with the project. The platform, already available in Mali and Guinea, is set for expansion across the continent.

On January 18, 2022, Amara Diawara (photo) announced a partnership with Synapse Medicine, a French health software company. This partnership, Diawara said, will allow Afriqcare, the startup he founded with Mariam Coulibaly, to improve the quality of its services.

With his platform, the techpreneur and holder of a Ph.D. in Medicine (from Gamal Abdel Nasser University in Conakry) hopes to revolutionize access to health care in his country, Guinea, and the rest of Africa.

Afriqcare offers online appointment booking, teleconsultation, and tele-expertise services. It also enables doctors to access their patients’ medical records via a health booklet and an e-vaccination record. With approximately 37 medical specialties currently listed on its platform, Afriqcare is already available in Conakry (Guinea) and Bamako (Mali).

The idea for the app emerged in Amara Diawara's mind while he was undergoing treatment for a lung tumor in France, where he had flown to in 2015 to pursue a master's degree in public health. Before that, he was working at the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the response to the Ebola epidemic that hit Guinea. During his treatment, he discovered the use of digital tools for healthcare monitoring and wanted to apply them in Africa.

"I told myself that we needed to give African patients and healthcare professionals the means to interact with digital tools. When I saw my patients, once they were out of the hospital, I no longer had any information about their journey. That had to change," he explained and so Afriqcare was born in 2020.

Amara Diawara won RFI's Africa 2020 Challenge App award and consequently €15,000 in funding. In February 2021, during the award ceremony, he said he would use the money to develop a new and improved version of the Afriqcare app.

"We will make the application easier to use so that it can be accessed even with low internet speed. The new version will also be more reliable and secure," Diawara declared at the time. He also revealed his ambition to dominate the digital health sector in French-speaking Africa, by 2025.

Aïsha Moyouzame