African tech is in full swing. Faced with a pandemic that is shaking the world, African entrepreneurs and engineers are working locally to develop solutions intended to prepare the continent for the worst scenarios. 

In Nairobi, Mehul Shah quickly understood that he could play a leading role in locally manufacturing the essential protective equipment. In just three days, his 3D printing company, Ultra Red Technologies, has developed a prototype protective band, on which a plastic sheet is attached to form a visor. Today it manufactures 500 per day. 

"It is very important to be able to show Kenyans that we can manufacture this equipment here, that we do not need to import it. We have the know-how and the means to produce it here," he says. to AFP. 

New state of mind 

Even if Kenya has officially registered to date only less than a thousand cases of coronavirus, including 50 deaths, "we are preparing for the worst case scenario", recognizes Mehul Shah, who welcomes the new state of mind in force. "All companies are trying to find out how to use their resources to help. The competitors who clashed yesterday are now pooling their efforts." 

The digital sector, booming in Kenya, is working on tracing applications. The FabLab company in Kisumu, the third city in the country, has thus developed the Msafari application (Safari means travel in Swahili), which tracks the movements of public transport passengers. 

It allows passengers who take a public transport minibus to identify themselves, at the same time as they enter the vehicle registration number. "If one of the passengers tests positive, we are able to find all the people who checked in and were in the vehicle," said Tairus Ooyi, one of the FabLab managers. 

Shortage of respirators 

Innovation has also been fruitful in the production of artificial respirators, crucial for saving lives because they allow the artificial ventilation of the lungs of patients suffering from pneumonia caused by the virus. 

In Africa, most countries only have a handful of these machines, some even have none. "Kenya had only about 50 working respirators for a population of over 50 million," said Dr. Gordon Ogweno, professor of medicine at the University of Kenyatta in Nairobi. "And beyond the pandemic, many diseases make their use necessary". 

Engineering students then developed, in collaboration with the university's medical department, a low-cost respirator, which is still undergoing clinical testing before use. It costs only a tenth of the price of an imported machine - estimated at $ 10,000. 

"Our young people have the solution" 

"Our young people have the solution to many of the problems the world faces today ... It's very exciting to see what they can do with the resources they have," said Nicholas Gikonyo, director of the Center National Herbal Medicine Research Center at the University of Kenyatta. 

In Ghana, universities in Accra and Kumasi have joined forces to design a respirator costing between $ 500 and $ 1,000, which takes just an hour to assemble. 

And in Somalia, a 21-year-old student, Mohamed Adawe, invented an accessory facilitating cardiopulmonary resuscitation. 

Humanoid robots 

While caregivers normally have to deliver oxygen to the patient via an insufflation bag, Mohamed Adawe's breathing assistance device - consisting of a wooden box, pipes and an electrical system - transfers the oxygen from a self-filling flask to the patient via a hose.  

"I have seen people who have difficulty breathing die because they cannot benefit from a machine to deliver the vital oxygen they need," says Adawe Mohamed. 

In addition to local manufacturing equipment, African countries also use high technology to fight the virus. 

Rwanda thus uses humanoid robots in coronavirus treatment centers, to minimize contact between humans. They are particularly able to take the temperature of patients. 

And in Ghana, the American company Zipline, which already uses drones to transport medicines, blood and vaccines while avoiding poor roads, has started to use it to transport coronavirus tests. 

With AFP

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