Leveraging AI and Social Platforms to Improve Sexual Reproductive Health: Our Journey as Winners of AMUA 3.0 Hackathon
On 21st December 2021, just six months after obtaining our legal business registration, Afya Intelligence was announced as the winner of the AMUA 3.0 Acceleration Hackathon, #Innovate4SRHData, under the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Sahara Ventures. This hackathon aimed to address the data challenges in sexual reproductive health and build capacity among innovators and entrepreneurs to co-design sustainable solutions that address the data gaps in this sector. We were among several teams that focused their ideas on leveraging data and existing systems to enable healthcare providers to make more informed decisions when it comes to providing better sexual reproductive healthcare(SRH) services.
In a unique way, we proposed leveraging AI powered Chatbot technology and integrating the existing national Electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS) with commonly used social platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram, developing a solution that would help healthcare providers access accurate and reliable SRH products availability information quickly and easily using mobile phones. By bringing this winning idea to life, healthcare facilities will be able to get up-to-date information related to fulfillment of their orders for medicine and medical products at the Medical Stores Department(MSD) soon after they have placed their orders, and get notified in case there is a stock out at MSD. But even then we thought we didn’t stand a chance to win as the other teams had equally promising ideas. Doctor Elizabeth Herman, Public health Specialist at Afya Intelligences and our team lead during Amua3 Hackathon, expressed her excitement for the win, stating that “The acceleration was a great success for our team with the development of a chatbot that provides stock availability notifications to healthcare providers from the medical store department (MSD). The chatbot idea is an innovative solution for healthcare providers to quickly and accurately access information about the stock availability of medicines.”
“The AMUA3 Hackathon acceleration initiative was a fantastic chance for Afya Intelligence to hasten its business and product development process with the aid of Sahara Ventures and UNFPA.”
As part of the success in the Amua 3.0 Acceleration program, Afya Intelligence was awarded a $6,000 fund to strengthen our start-up in business formalization and prototype development. This funding has been instrumental in helping Afya Intelligence continue to develop innovative solutions and build on our successes in the healthcare sector. With this support, Afya Intelligence was positioned to organize our operations and continue to make a positive impact on the lives of women, men, and young people across Africa Felistas Makene, Portfolio Lead at Sahara Ventures, also commented on the win, stating that “The AMUA3 Hackathon acceleration initiative was a fantastic chance for Afya Intelligence to hasten its business and product development process with the aid of Sahara Ventures and UNFPA.”
In December 2022, a year later, as we reflect on the moment, this win was truly a great achievement for everyone at Afya Intelligence, and it shows how AI can be used to perfect the healthcare experience and improve lives across Africa. We are grateful for the support by Sahara ventures and UNFPA. Today we are further ahead in building the healthcare intelligence needed by our country and our African neighbors.