Afya Lead
Mkapa Legacy Health Innovation Award 2024
Mkanda Salama offers a non-invasive solution by wrapping around the abdomen to control bleeding immediately after delivery. This device facilitates patient transfer from primary to tertiary healthcare facilities and is also suitable for use in ambulances and refugee camps. Unlike traditional methods such as uterine balloon tamponade, condom tamponade, and anti-shock garments, Mkanda Salama stands out for its ease of use, affordability, and reusability. It can be utilized by any healthcare worker in various settings across Tanzania. Initial testing in collaboration with Ifakara Health Institute at St. Francis Referral Hospital demonstrated an effectiveness rate of over 84%, with results published in the East African Journal of Science, Technology, and Innovation. The candidates who won this award are Franc Mussa Israel and Paschal Thomas Kija from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science (MUHAS).
Mkapa Legacy Health Innovation Award; This award is being presented for the second time targeting young health innovators in health technology that was invented to improve quality of service delivery and save lives.
The process utilized to select this award was co-facilitated by Sahara Venture through Sahara Accelerator (a Technological Innovation Company) and BMF through invitation of Innovators from Sahara Accelerator to compete by pitching the ideas and progress made from their initial presentation under Sahara Accelerator. Eleven Innovators with various ideas competed and among them Afya Lead with an innovative idea of combating Maternal Mortality associated with Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH) by using Safe Wrap “Mkanda Salama” technology became the winner.