Young innovators eye prestigious CHIA Healthcare Award
DAR ES SALAAM: THREE healthcare young innovators who are competing for this year’s CHIA Healthcare Innovation Award, are set to showcase their project ideas to an audience of investors, policymakers, and project implementers from Tanzania and other countries at the upcoming 11th Tanzania Health Summit (THS) in Zanzibar.
The CHIA Healthcare Innovation Award, established in 2020, recognizes and celebrates the most impactful and innovative healthcare solutions in Tanzania.
The award aims to encourage further innovation and inspire improvements in the country’s healthcare sector, addressing challenges such as infectious diseases, chronic conditions, and disparities in access to quality care.
The three finalists with project ideas: Akili Yangu, TanzMed, and Automated Suction Machine, were selected from among 10 projects that were pitched to judges in Dar es Salaam.
They are now set to present their project ideas at the summit, hoping to impress the audience—and one of them is expected to emerge the winner of the coveted CHIA award.
The 11th Tanzania Health Summit, to be held from October 1st to 3rd,, in Fumba town, Zanzibar, is expected to attract high-profile officials and delegates from 20 countries around the world, and is expected to be graced by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
The theme of this year’s summit is: “Igniting progress: joining efforts for quality healthcare through public-private partnerships.”
The innovators, competing for the prestigious CHIA Healthcare Innovation Award, are vying for seed money to bring their innovative solutions to life.
The winner, according to the President of Tanzania Health Summit, Dr Omary Chillo, will receive seed funding to support the implementation of their project, propelling their innovative solutions towards tangible impact.
Dr Chillo emphasized the importance of this award in fostering innovation and addressing Tanzania’s pressing health challenges. “This award provides a unique opportunity for young innovators to showcase their ideas and potentially transform the healthcare landscape,” he said.
Mr Anodi Kaihula, Manager for THS, highlighted the need for supportive regulatory systems to facilitate the growth of innovation in Tanzania.
“Beyond investment, Tanzania’s health innovators yearn for supportive regulatory systems that enable them to navigate the complexities of innovation, especially in the era of artificial intelligence,” Kaihula said.
“While the government has made strides in promoting innovation, there is a pressing need to streamline existing regulations and provide mentorship and training programmes for young innovators.”
One of the significant challenges facing healthcare innovators in Tanzania is the capital-intensive nature of AI development.
Training and deploying AI models require substantial investments, often beyond the reach of many innovators. Additionally, the reliance on open-source data for AI model training raises concerns about data security and privacy.
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The award has previously given prominence to innovators such as Dr Atish Shah’s name rose to fame two years ago for his work that work has attracted stakeholders from far and wide.
His innovation the Mkono-1, is a 3D-printed functional prosthetic hand—the battery-powered prosthetics—not being developed elsewhere in the region.
On top of taking his business idea further, on 14th July, 2022, he was handed a trophy by President Samia Suluhu Hassan during the Mkapa Legacy Innovation Award organized jointly with Tanzania Health Summit.
Other famous innovators such as SarataniAI or the most recent one: AfyaDrive—all inspired by Tanzania’s largest healthcare summit emerged from the CHIA Healthcare Innovation Award.
