INVENTIONS

“The world is used to seeing Africa as a continent of need – but we are a continent of creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, teachers, and professionals. Our universities and research institutions are not ivory towers of elite knowledge. Instead, we consider real problems faced by fellow Africans. The many innovations that Africans have produced to address the problems raised by Covid-19 are just a hint of what we can do as a continent. Our young people need to know and develop their own potential as Africans to help the world solve humanity’s wicked problems. It is time that we begin thinking of ourselves in the light of what we can offer the world. To do so, we need to invest in research that will build our own potential. This is no small task. But it is essential to our future,” says Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, South Africa.”

1| JAWAM WASHING MACHINE:

Stephen Wamukota is greatly respected in his village in western Kenya. His foot-operated washing machine has helped curbed the spread of Covid-19 in his community as it reduces the need for people to use the communal tap when washing clothes. Seeking funding to continue his production line, he hopes to expand to other communities, a goal he hopes to achieve before his 10th birthday.

2| RONA:

Fake news may be a thing of the past in Kenya, as Rona, the data analytics chatbot, can help clear any fact or detail that may be fabricated or confusing. Rona is the brainchild of Brian Wambui, a 21-year-old IT student at Dedan Kimathi University in Kenya. The questions are manually typed in, a feature Wambui believes is more user-friendly than the 719 Helpline and bots that provide a limited list of questions. “I imagined it would be a great idea if they could craft their questions the same way the misinformation was being spread, that is, using their own formulated words, not selecting their question from a list of options,” said Wambui to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

3| RESPIRE-19:

Like most African countries, Nigeria has seen a significant shortage of ventilators to treat patients with severe Covid-19 symptoms. This led to the invention of a portable automatic emergency-ventilator made from locally-sourced materials. This life-saving device, RESPIRE-19, owes its creation to Usman Dalhatu and his colleagues Aliyu Hassan and Dr Yunusa Muhammad Garba of Nigeria.

4| WELLVIS:

At some point) and his team in Nigeria, it is a free online tool that allows users to do a self-assessment of their symptoms against a pre-programmed check-list of confirmed Covid-19 symptoms. This tool also offers medical advice or provides information on the nearest medical center that a user can visit for treatment.