I am thrilled to have recently joined Diagnostics For All, and joined a team of extraordinary innovators whose mission is to bring new low-cost diagnostics to the developing world.
To understand our mission, consider a recent survey of Rwandan women, which reveals several problems accessing healthcare — 53 percent cite inability to pay and 26 percent cite distance to a healthcare facility.[1]Imagine being able to provide these women with a low-cost test they can take home to monitor a life threatening condition on a regular basis, which is as simple as watching a piece of paper turn color and the results could be transmitted to a doctor by cell phone. That is our goal, and we are close to launching our first diagnostic test.
The technology to achieve the mission was initially conceived in George Whitesides laboratory at Harvard and then funded and supported by our many sponsors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, and others. With the support of these sponsors, the team at Diagnostics for All is now working diligently to bring this technology to maturity.
So explore our website, join our mailing list and please do stay in touch, as we work to deliver on this mission. We welcome your involvement.
Yours sincerely,
Marcus Lovell Smith
November 2012
[1] National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) [Rwanda], Ministry of Health (MOH) [Rwanda], and ICF International. 2012. Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey 2010. Calverton, Maryland, USA: NISR, MOH, and ICF International. Accessed 16-Mar-12. http://www.measuredhs.com/publications/publication-fr259-dhs-final-reports.cfm