A Database Of Donors Is Filling Blood Supply Gaps In Nigeria

HelpMum offers a vaccination tracker app that allows parents to track their babies’ immunization schedules. Parents can track their child’s vaccination records and see when they’re due for another dose to ensure they’re staying up to date on immunizations.

An on-going research study out of UC Berkeley's Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health has partnered with youth from the Salinas Valley for two decades to investigate the influence of pesticides on child development. Their findings have been published more than 150 times; the PSA that they designed is regularly aired on 10 radio stations across California, Oregon and Washington; and the children in the study grew up to form the first Youth Council to lead their own research on the impact of pesticides. As a result, many farmworkers in CA are now more educated about pesticide risks.

To increase awareness of cervical cancer and the cancer-preventing HPV vaccine, Al-Ansar radio shares information about the disease, the vaccine and works to dispel speculation and misinformation about vaccines in general to those in underserved and hard-to-reach areas, as they’re often hardest to get vaccinated.

OdonAssist is an inflatable device designed to help better perform assisted vaginal births (AVB). Several organizations, including the WHO, have been working to get the device on the market, especially in areas with high maternal and infant mortality rates. AVBs are proven to reduce risks during birth, like excessive bleeding, and clinical studies have shown that the OdonAssist device is both safe and effective in performing AVBs, as 88.5% of uses have been successful.

Following studies that show how important sleep is to hospital patients, several hospitals are revamping their practices to use sleep as medicine and take a more “patient-centered care” approach to allow patients ample time to rest and heal.

Studies show that people who participate in Dry January experience lasting benefits like drinking less in the long run and making other changes to their drinking habits that lead to improved health and wellness. A month of sobriety can lead to opportunities to form new habits and experience health benefits like weight loss, better sleep and mood and energy boosts.

Unlike the U.S., in Germany medical debt is almost nonexistent because the country limits how much patients have to pay out-of-pocket for doctor and hospital visits and medications. Affordable access to health care has made German patients less likely than Americans to die from conditions that can be treated with good access to care, such as heart attacks, diabetes, pneumonia, and some cancers.

The Sickle Cell Aid Foundation teaches tech skills to those with sickle cell anemia to increase their employability and spearhead an inclusive tech industry. Since launching, the organization has trained and graduated 20 individuals with coding skills.

Air pollution plagues much of Asia, but a handful of countries are putting energy and resources towards lessening the rising health concerns that come from breathing unclean air. From leveraging technology to create cheaper yet more effective air filters to government mandates, the countries are experimenting with a variety of solutions.

Because of a collaborative effort between a high school cross country team and Chispa, an environmental advocacy group, Arizona’s Phoenix Union High School District has bought its first electric school bus. While nearly three times more expensive than a regular school bus, the school district considered the long-term sustainability, not just in terms of fuel and maintenance costs, but in regards to larger, environmental efforts as well.