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Three years ago, the Pierre Fabre Foundation launched an e-Health Observatory in the South, in order to "identify, document and showcase" African or Asian technological innovations in the field of health . On the 2nd of July in Lavaur, in the south of France, the 3rd conference around this initiative took place.
When she describes the device developed by neurologists Farrah Mateen and Fode Abass Cissé to diagnose epilepsy, the general director of the Pierre Fabre Foundation – the pharmaceutical laboratory of the same name -, Béatrice Garrette, lets talk his enthusiasm: "In fact, this is a cap with electrodes that was originally designed as part of video games. It's very fun to use! "
Behind this appearance of a toy, a major challenge: detect a neurological disease often unknown in Africa, but for which effective treatments exist. "People who have seizures are often stigmatized in many countries, sometimes even assaulted. Diagnosing epilepsy is the first step toward care, "says Beatrice Garrette
For this reason, the Guinea Epilepsy Project was honored by the Pierre Fabre Foundation on July 2 , at the conference of the Observatory of e-health in the countries of the South, organized for the 3rd consecutive year in Lavaur, in the south of France.
Connected objects
This project, and that of five other 2018 (Asian and African) winners will benefit for one year from the financial and operational support of the foundation, through an annual global envelope of 100,000 euros available as and when, according to requests considered priority. Their authors will also be able to take part in skills-building workshops at the Pierre Fabre Foundation's headquarters, led by international experts.
Technologies of this type are developing rapidly in Africa. And for Beatrice Garrette, this is only the beginning: "We notice a rapid and massive appropriation of technology. In a few years, the mobile phone has become an essential good. In health, these are still only promises, but these new technologies could partly solve the problems of prevention, training, and low access to health that we see especially in rural areas, medical specialists settling for the most part in the big cities. »
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The general director of the foundation notes that if the first innovations in e-health concerned the so-called In recent months, such as maternal and child health, all the medical sectors have become involved, and there is now a wealth of connected objects capable of collecting different types of information.
Work in network
The goal of the Observatory? Bring all actors together and integrate them into a global framework, to support, and possibly duplicate, the devices that work. "Finding and documenting all initiatives, sorting out information, highlighting programs is a task we do all year long, networked with experts from the North and the South and scientists from the Pierre Fabre Foundation. For the competition, we received 450 applications and conducted, after a first selection process, about fifteen field studies, both with project sponsors and patients, "explains the director general of the Observatory. 19659003] In addition to the Guinea Epilepsy Project, the Africa Cardiac Care program was selected this year, which provides access to cardiac monitoring via the mobile network for people with chronic diseases with low incomes in Cameroon, or the Blood Safety Strengthening Program, designed to manage information from Lesotho blood donors.
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