WHO recommends that women have at least four antenatal visits to detect any complications in pregnancies, and many in rural areas do not have the means or the access to facilities to undertake even a single visit. The new invention can be a valuable asset in prenatal and antenatal care for mothers who do not have access to larger health care facilities. One such technology is the Vscan, a non-invasive ultrasound device the size of a smartphone, which provides real-time high-resolution images that can be used in medical fields such as cardiology and obstetrics and gynaecology.Ĭreated by General Electric, a US conglomerate corporation, and launched at the World Health Assembly in Geneva last May, the Vscan, with its handheld size and easy-to-navigate touch screen, can come in handy in rural areas in Africa where health facilities are under-equipped. To help save lives, some companies have started tapping into new technologies that can diagnose health conditions and diseases more efficiently and accurately than current practices using standard equipment. The high number of maternal deaths reflects inequities in access to health services. Infections related to the delivery process, and communicable diseases such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria, are the leading cause of these deaths. The figures are bleak: 1 in 12 children in sub-Saharan Africa dies before turning 5, and more than 430 women die each day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The puzzle of the high maternal and child mortality rate in Africa, especially for children under the age of five, remains a major concern even as all efforts are made to reverse the trend.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |