Hi-tech Healthcare

By+Liu+Jian

Life is tough for Birke fisaha， a 29-year-old Ethiopian health worker， at the Ambericho Achamo health post in Wulbareg County， Ethiopia. She is responsible for the health needs of more than 7，600 people in several of the countys villages. Among those， around 200 are below one year old and in need of vaccines. Immunization is one of the effective methods for preventing many life-threatening childhood illnesses.

In the past， children could only get vaccines at the health post on a designated day every month， due to the lack of power supply. On that day， Fisaha would wake up early and walk several miles to the nearest health center to collect vaccines stored in a cold box with ice bags. Ice is essential to preserve the vaccines efficacy. She would inform parents beforehand to bring their children to be vaccinated， but once the ice melted the vaccines became ineffective. Mothers traveled with their young kids for miles on foot， but sometimes when arriving late， they found the health post had run out of vaccines.

The Ambericho Achamo health posts situation is a typical example of Africa， where poor infrastructure and unreliable power supply mean life-saving vaccines are often spoiled， or out of stock， as they need to be kept cool from manufacture all the way to point of use.

According to the World Health Organization （WHO）， approximately 17 percent of deaths in children under five are vaccine-preventable. An estimated 1.5 million children die annually from diseases that can be prevented by immunization.

Now， thanks to a new invention， hope is at hand. Arktek， a keg-like portable vaccine storage device， is expected to help address this major health challenge on the continent. This innovative device was developed by Aucma， a Chinese refrigeration equipment supplier， and Global Good， a research institution funded by Bill Gates.

“The ice blocks need to be refrozen only every 50 days in a low-temperature refrigerator， which is available in local hospitals，” said Ren Yizhao， Aucmas Director of Integration Management. “One Arktek device can meet the needs of a community of about 6，000 people， and it has a life span of at least 10 years.” Ren said doctors in remote and powerlacking areas can preserve vaccines that may save many lives， especially those of children.

The device is making the vaccination process much more effective for health workers like Fisaha. “Its easy to use and requires minimum maintenance，” Fisaha said， adding that it is rugged enough to be transported over long-distances on rough roads.

“How to preserve vaccines and medicines in rural areas is the challenge we have，” Sasara Chasala George， Botswanas Ambassador to China， told ChinAfrica when attending the 25th China International Medical Equipment Exhibition held on August 19-21 in Beijing. “Because of the unreliable power supply in Africa， this device is wonderful， especially for clinics in rural areas.”

“Arktek overcomes two major obstacles for vaccine delivery in Africa： unstable power supply and a lack of professionals for device maintenance，” said Lucy Chen， Executive Deputy Director of Peking Universitys Institute for Global Health.

Addressing vaccine challenge

To address the problem of keeping vaccines cool， Aucma produced 30 Arkteks in 2013. With the support of United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund （UNICEF）， they were used on a trial basis by several clinics in three African countries： Senegal， Ethiopia and Nigeria from 2013 to 2014.

“In the beginning of the one-year test， local people were curious about the device and couldnt believe it would work without electricity，” said Ren. “But when the test ended in June of 2014， many local people tried to persuade us to leave the device with them，” he added.

In early 2015， Arkteks gained WHOs prequalification for meeting global standards of quality， safety and efficacy. The devices are currently being sold to several international NGOs.

“In the past， vaccinating daily was unthinkable in remote areas in African countries， but now the Arktek device assists to vaccinate anytime as long as the children come and the monthly consumption of vaccine is at hand，” said Ren.

With this power-free refrigerating technology， vaccination became available to newborns living far from clinics， as doctors can also transport the device on a donkey or a camel， and provide services to infants at their homes.

Chinas experience

Arktek is one of Chinas innovations providing effective technology-driven health solutions to Africans in recent years. Ted Chaiban， UNICEFs Director of Programs， believes that Chinas advanced medical technology and successful experience can also be applied to African countries.

Chaiban also spoke highly of Chinas research and use of the nutritional packets for children under three in the impoverished areas to cope with the malnutrition problem over the past 15 years.

The nutritional packet consists of a soybean-based supplement fortified with vitamins and minerals commonly lacking in Chinese infants and children. One pack of 12 grams per day can satisfy an infants nutritional needs and make up for the micronutrient deficiencies.

“Chinas experience can provide meaningful reference for improving nutritional status of infants in poor areas in Africa and Asia，” said Chaiban.

“We [UNICEF] work with Chinas National Health and Family Planning Commission （NHFPC） to encourage this cooperation. We provided our suggestions， such as focusing on primary healthcare and sustainable technology， not just [on] high-end and expensive ones， but also simple innovations， like the Arktek device，” he told ChinAfrica.

Meeting African needs

“I want to see the new innovations. Wed like to see things that can work in Africa where we have less electricity and unreliable power supply， and the accessible technology that people can understand and is not very complicated，” said Sasara George.

During the Ebola outbreak in 2014， the Chinese medical teams in Africa used a portable molecular diagnostic device for Ebola detection where close to 600 samples were tested with 98.8 percent sensitivity.

Developed by Coyote Bioscience， a Beijing-based Chinese startup， the battery-powered device is used for one-step gene testing that can be as fast as 10 minutes from blood sample to result. It was adopted in the list of WHO Emergency Quality Assurance Mechanism for Ebola virus disease testing in Africa in 2015， according to the company.

“Most African countries， including Botswana， aspire to have accessible and necessary health infrastructure so as to improve the health of families and communities，”said George. “Public health， however， is still a challenge for many African countries. We therefore need partners， like China， to cooperate in this regard，” he said.

Public health is among the 10 major China-Africa cooperation plans for 2016-18. China plans to help Africa improve the availability of health and diagnostic services and commodities， and enhance Africas capacity for independent and sustainable development in the field of medical care and health， according to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Johannesburg Action Plan announced last December.

“Chinese companies are encouraged to invest in African countries for localized production and to improve health products accessibility，” said Feng Yong， Deputy Director General of NHFPCs Department of International Cooperation， at the Innovation of International Medical Aid Seminar， part of the 2016 Beijing Forum for Global Health held on August 19-20.

According to Feng， a meeting will be held on November 21-22 in Shanghai， with a theme to improve accessibility of health products in Africa， and boost industrial capacity cooperation in the medical and health sector.