A Nigerian, Dr. Eddy Agbo, over the weekend emerged as one of the three winners of the Innovation Prize for Africa, winning the Special Prize for Social Impact with innovative healthcare solution to address Africa’s prevailing malaria burden.
The Innovation Prize for Africa is the landmark programme of the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) According to a statement by AIF, out of a total of 985 applications, 10 nominees were selected and The Social Impact Prize of US$25 000 was awarded to Dr. Eddy Agbo for his Urine Test for Malaria (UMT) a rapid non-blood diagnostic medical device that can diagnose malaria in less than 25 minutes.
A 2015 World Bank report states that an overwhelming 99 per cent of people who die from Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), malaria and tuberculosis (TB) live in the developing world.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the epicentre of the HIV and AIDS epidemic is sub-Saharan Africa, home to 70 per cent of all new HIV infections. Malaria kills about 660, 000 people each year, negatively impacting on African economies and households.
Economists believe that malaria is responsible for a growth penalty of up to 1.3 per cent in some African countries, hindering economic growth in the region.
Dr. Agon, a Beninoise was unanimous winner of the US$100 000 Grand Prize for his innovation Api-Palu, an anti-malaria drug treatment that has hit the market not only in Benin, but in Burkina Faso, Chad and Central African Republic (CAR).
Exatype processes the highly complex data produced by advanced “next-generation” DNA sequencing of the HIV DNA in a patient’s blood. Through a simple report, it detects drugs that are resistant to the patient, then highlights the need to avoid these to ensure successful treatment.
Source: The Guardian Nigeria