Public summaries SBIR DM: innovations for women's health in Africa - phase 1

Many women in Uganda receive little follow-up care after giving birth and seek help for complications too late. AFRIpads will test a reusable postpartum pad with visual indicators that can show early signs of infection or unusual bleeding at home.

The team will study whether this smart fabric is safe and affordable. They will also research how women with warning signs can be referred through village health teams (VHTs), midwives and health facilities.

Heavy bleeding after birth (postpartum haemorrhage) is a leading cause of maternal death in Uganda. Existing treatments are expensive, single-use and difficult to use where resources are limited.

Layco R&D is developing a reusable, manual vacuum device for health workers. It should be affordable and easy to use, improve access to emergency care and reduce medical waste.

Women in Uganda are often treated for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) based on symptoms alone, without an accurate test. This often leads to needless use of antibiotics. Infections without symptoms may also go unnoticed, increasing the risk of infertility and HIV.

Spotlight Dx is developing an affordable, accurate and easy-to-use molecular STI test. The project will study whether it can be used in women’s health services in Uganda.

Spectator eHealth will adapt its telehealth (care at a distance) platform to support mothers and children during the first 1,000 days of life, in line with the UNICEF framework. It offers a multilingual mobile app, advice and tools for (community) healthcare workers, built into Uganda’s referral system.

With Mildmay Research Centre Uganda, the team will test the workflow, offline use and business model for rural and semi-urban areas, where about 24.4% of children under 5 are too short for their age.

Because care is fragmented and expensive, many women in Lagos live with hormonal and metabolic conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, irregular periods or insulin resistance for 5 to 10 years before getting help.

HerCycle is a women-led care pathway that starts at trusted neighbourhood pharmacies. A multilingual app helps women check health risks, get tested at a pharmacy or clinic, receive medical support and get advice on nutrition and lifestyle.

More than 300 million women in Africa experience vaginal pain, narrowing or scarring. These problems can occur after female genital mutilation (FGM), childbirth injuries, radiotherapy for cervical cancer or menopause.

Chloe Innovations will develop Chloe VCare, an affordable soft pad with a short absorbent tip that sits partly inside the vagina. It supports gentle stretching and delivers therapeutic cream. Co-design work in Uganda will test the product's usability, acceptability and scale-up potential.

Birth trauma and postpartum depression are often missed and have serious, long-term effects on women, children and communities in Nigeria. This feasibility study will adapt the existing Mamamoon programme to the Nigerian context, working with healthcare providers, women and community organisations.

The programme combines expert advice, practical support and preparation for recovery after birth. It aims to improve care for mothers after they leave hospital, supporting their wellbeing. The study will also help prepare a sustainable business model for phase 2.

Chloe Innovations will develop a kit that combines the Chloe Syringe Extension Device with standard instruments for procedures, such as those for emptying the womb after a miscarriage (manual vacuum aspiration), fitting an intrauterine device (IUD) and taking a cervical biopsy.

The kit aims to make safe, affordable pain relief part of routine care for women in low-resource settings. Through research, co-design and fieldwork in Ethiopia, the team will assess usability, clinical needs, ways to introduce the kit and its scale-up potential.

IMPALA-MATER aims to help healthcare workers in Ethiopia detect birth complications such as heavy bleeding, infection (sepsis) and high blood pressure earlier. Based on the existing IMPALA patient monitoring platform, it combines monitoring of vital signs and clinical information with proven risk scores to identify women who need urgent care.

Working with Ethiopian healthcare workers, implementation and policy partners, GOAL 3 will assess the technical, clinical and commercial feasibility of the solution. This includes its suitability for daily care, user acceptance, evidence needs, partner roles and purchasing options.

Dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy (preeclampsia) is a major cause of maternal death in Ethiopia. Because women in rural areas find regular check-ups hard to attend, it is often diagnosed late.

Q Point will research home-based screening and referral for pregnant women in rural Sidama. It combines blood pressure and urine protein tests with guidance for women who cannot read well, as well as support from health extension workers. The aim is earlier risk recognition, faster referral and better outcomes.

Women and vulnerable people in remote parts of Manica Province struggle to reach care. Distances are long, roads are poor, climate events disrupt travel and there are few healthcare workers available.

Gender2Connect is developing an outreach system that uses motorcycles. It combines medical transport, portable diagnostics and digital referral tools, and fits within the public health system. The study will assess whether the model is technically, operationally, socially and economically feasible for large-scale use.

On Kenyan labour wards, monitoring is often fragmented and done on paper. This makes it harder to spot complications early. GOAL 3 will assess whether IMPALA-TRACE, built using its IMPALA patient monitoring platform, is technically, clinically and commercially feasible in the Kenyan context.

It brings the mother’s vital signs, the baby’s heart rate, contraction monitoring and a digital labour care guide together into 1 workflow. The team will research how to help midwives find complications and make decisions faster. They will also research how hospitals, counties, NGOs and health programmes can adopt the innovation.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Kenya. But because screening is limited outside of major cities, most cases are diagnosed late. CheckMe and Haskoning combine portable ultrasound with artificial intelligence (AI) to help nurses screen and get instant diagnostic support.

The study will test whether the innovation works within Kenyan primary healthcare (local clinics), assessing technical performance, impact, user acceptance and cost. The aim is earlier diagnosis, fewer deaths and screening for women across rural and urban Kenya.

Heavy bleeding after birth (postpartum haemorrhage) is the leading cause of maternal death in Kenya. Because women are monitored insufficiently after childbirth, it is often diagnosed late.

Menava Health offers a system that combines AI-based risk prediction, monitoring by SMS and WhatsApp and a wearable medical device. The study will assess whether the innovation works in low-resource settings by testing technical performance, user acceptance and economic viability. The aim is timely treatment and fewer deaths in clinics and communities.

Breast cancer is now the most common cancer among women in Africa, and many survivors have had a breast removed (mastectomy). However, few can obtain an external breast prosthesis or post-mastectomy bras. Imported products are expensive, rarely match African women’s sizes and skin tones and often break down in hot climates.

MAMA+ aims to change this by building a fair market for locally suited prostheses, supporting local, women-led manufacturers to meet quality and regulatory standards. It also aims to improve demand coordination from hospitals, NGOs and women to enable supply. This restores women’s dignity, confidence and recovery, while supporting lasting businesses led by women.

Many young mothers feel stressed, anxious or depressed during pregnancy and after birth, but mental health support in Kenya is very limited. InukaCare will adapt and test its digital mental health platform, Inuka, for first-time mothers in Kenya.

Trained female lay coaches (not clinicians) will offer online support within maternal healthcare. Phase 1 includes talks with stakeholders and users, adapting coaching training and preparing delivery. This will help determine whether the approach is feasible, acceptable and sustainable before testing it on a larger scale.

Many women find a speculum (the instrument used to examine the cervix) painful and stressful, which delays cervical screening. NovaLilium, a Dutch medtech start-up, is developing Lilium, a more comfortable device that is easier for clinicians to use.

It has so far been developed with clinicians in Europe. This study will determine its use in the Kenyan context. The team will assess usability, workflow fit, patient acceptance and cleaning (decontamination) requirements to help guide the next phase.

Women in remote, dry areas of Kenya live far from health facilities. Orange Sparks is developing MAMA-SUN, a solar-powered electric outreach and referral system, starting in Isiolo County.

It aims to improve antenatal care, maternal screening, referral and follow-up. The study will assess whether a lightweight, solar-powered tuk-tuk health unit can strengthen links between women, community health actors and county health systems.

Many women in Kenya experience long delays in receiving the right diagnosis and treatment for chronic pelvic pain. This is because awareness is limited and referral pathways are often unclear.

TNO, HEM Practice and Savannah Global Health Institute are supporting the contextualisation, adaptation and implementation of a digital symptom navigation tool based on the Dutch platform Endometriosewijzer.nl.

Integrated into routine care, the tool helps women better understand their symptoms, including endometriosis, and guides them on when and where to seek care. The tool also supports healthcare providers with referral guidance and decision support. The goal is earlier recognition, reduced diagnostic delays and improved health outcomes for women.

Women in Kenya often cannot get timely tests for common STIs, which can lead to infertility if untreated.

Rapidemic is developing RapiDetect, a fast molecular test that can be used outside laboratories and that detects 2 common STIs. It brings accurate testing closer to primary care, so women can be diagnosed and treated in a single visit. The study will assess feasibility, user needs and market routes. The pilot in phase 2 will prepare for scale-up.