Information and Communication Technologies for Development

We aim to create a technological solution that helps decrease infant mortality in Karachi, Pakistan. In developing countries, lung infection kills more children (under age 5) than aids, malaria and measles combined!. Pneumonia is the number one killer of those children. Of course preventive measures such as vaccinations, adequate nutrition and reducing indoor air pollution or overcrowding are very important. Nevertheless, when a patient already has pneumonia, it is imperative to take the appropriate steps to better address the problem. Under staff and under equipped conditions in the poorest areas, makes it difficult to deliver care promptly. This is one of the reasons why, regions like South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, have the highest rates of mortality due to pneumonia.
A mobile alert system that becomes part of the general practitioners workflow in Karachi, without adding more burden to their busy schedule, would help IRD-PATH study the impact of vaccination in reducing pneumonia and thus infant mortality.
Infants carrying RFID devices will be identify during the medical encounter. To achieve this, physicians using an RFID reader and Java enabled cellular phone, will report the status of pneumonia in those children that are part of the study. In case a physician reports a patient that has pneumonia, IRD-PATH will send staff to the location to further survey the child.