Hi All,
Just a thought, but after a bit of research and again looking back to previous ressapp announcements back in October 2015 ,
I beleive that UNICEF are the 'WHO' organisation for the following reasons:
-On November 12th, 2015 in New York City, Dr Udantha Abeyratne, Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering at The University of Queensland and Chief Scientific Advisor at ResApp Health presented their pneumonia diagnostic technology at the inaugural Peushing the Pace: The Pneumonia Innovations Summit. The Summit, held on World Pneumonia Day and was supported by
UNICEF.
-The summit brought together the growing community of innovators with new and improved technologies for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
childhood pneumonia in low resource settings.
-The Summit announced more than
$US30 million in new funding for several initiatives including:
• the Acute Respiratory Infection Diagnostic Aid (ARIDA) project – a $US5.5 million partnership between
“la Caixa” Foundation and
UNICEF to introduce a new generation of
improved pneumonia diagnostic devices in several countries struggling with high burdens of childhood pneumonia;
• the winners of Grand Challenges Explorations Round 15, with novel concepts to reduce childhood pneumonia deaths through the delivery of timely and effective treatment and each awarded $US100,000 by the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation;
• a new $US25 million program to increase access to better diagnosis and treatment for pneumonia and diarrhea among children in Ethiopia and Nigeria, implemented by the
Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) and
Results for Development (R4D), with support from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The program focuses on increasing availability and usage of the recommended antibiotic amoxicillin dispersible tablets and oxygen for pneumonia treatment;
• “Every Breath Counts”, a $US700,000 campaign by
Speak Up Africa and
UNICEF to galvanize donor interest in pneumonia, to raise popular awareness of pneumonia, and to increase appropriate care seeking by families, supported by the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children ($US200,000) and the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($US500,000)
The common link to all this is the Melinda Gates Foundation,
Further, have a look at the ARIDA Project, run by UNICEF...
Link -
http://www.unicef.org/innovation/innovation_81722.html
Advanced diagnostic tools, such as chest x-rays and laboratory tests, are not readily available in low-resource health settings. Instead, health workers are trained to diagnose pneumonia by observing and counting how quickly a child’s chest rises and fall | UNICEF Innovation | UNICEF
The goal of the project is to make devices available that can enable accurate and easy-to-use respiratory rate counting for diagnosing pneumonia in children. Concretely, we are looking for products that do automated breath counting.
During this phase of the ARIDA project will procure limited quantities of ARIDA devices for implementation pilots. These commercially available products must be clinically-trialled and regulatory-approved (CE, FDA or equivalent medical device stringent regulatory approval).
Advanced diagnostic tools, such as chest x-rays and laboratory tests, are not readily available in low-resource health settings. Instead, health workers are trained to diagnose pneumonia by observing and counting how quickly a child’s chest rises and fall | UNICEF Innovation | UNICEF
• Duration of approximately 3 months per implementation pilot;
• Take place throughout 2016, and possibly beyond;
• Include up to 17 countries that have expressed interest (it is expected, though, that pilots will take place in a reduced number of countries);
• Include approximately 300 devices per implementation pilot;
• Managed by UNICEF, but implemented using a third-party research consultancy/institution with full collaboration and approvals with the local UNICEF country offices and ministries.
