Johnathyn Owens

'Salus' is a non-electric modular medicine distribution kit that allows for the detection and treatment of Malaria Plasmodium Falciparum to be implemented locally by elected representatives within rural communities in Ethiopia, while simultaneously tracking drug use statistics to predict epidemics and give early warning of drug shortages to the regional health bureau.

Malaria is the number one killer in Ethiopia, annually responsible for 40 per cent of all deaths and over 20 per cent of deaths of children under five. Half of the footfall in rural clinics in Ethiopia is due to Malaria and often patients must walk for up to 30 kilometres to reach them, causing their condition to worsen. A single health clinic can be responsible for over 100,000 people within a 50-kilometre radius. Because of this, facilities are understaffed, under stocked and extremely unhygienic due to the lack of proper resources.

With 'Salus', each rural community has two representatives that test the population for Malaria via hydrophobic paper diagnosis. When an individual tests positive, they are weighed on the 'Vitalo' detachable scale, which uses colour to indicate the correct medicine dosage based on their bodyweight. Colour-coded drug packets are then dispensed; a simple visual system on the packets allows patients to know how much medication they need to take and when. Ten pre-printed codes are found incrementally on the medicine supply. The community official is able to inform the corresponding health clinic of drug usage by sending the code via mobile phone using 'Logistimo'.