ictdchick

This is a bit belated (I’m something like 6 months behind on blog posts) but my group got an honorable mention at this year’s Bear’s Breaking Boundaries IT for Society competition. Our project, led by Laura Stachel (MD, studying for a DrPH in the School of Public Health) proposes to provide sufficient reliable power for lighting, diagnostic equipment, and communications to support emergency obstetric care for a rural hospital in Zaria, Northern Nigeria. It’s a really cool proposal - basically coming up with a series (aka "menu") of solar lighting and power packages for different climates. Lighting is provided through led flood-lamps, power is intended for diagnostic equipment, and charging of communications equipment, with everything completely independent of the main power system of the hospital (minimizing exposure to power spikes and unwanted drainages). I think the other good thing about this proposal is that it targets emergency care - an oft-neglected and sorely critical aspect of healthcare in developing regions. For more info, there’s a flyer here and you can contact us at wheretheresnolight at googlegroups dot com.