皇冠体育app

Today Sightsavers announced thirteen new programmes that will focus on innovative ways to improve health for people living in poor countries as part of a programme supported by the British Government.

Lynne Featherstone, Minister for International Development at the UK Department for International Development, said:

This fund offers an excellent chance for charities, academic institutions and businesses to work together and find innovative solutions to health or disability problems.

I鈥檓 thrilled so many organisations are taking advantage of this opportunity and look forward to seeing the results - especially if they can be used later to address other health or disability challenges.

Open to NGOs, academic institutions, the private sector and disabled people鈥檚 organisations,聽a total of 477 proposals were received for innovative solutions to development challenges.

Innovative ways of tackling health issues

Some examples of the projects selected are:

• A pilot project in Malawi aims to use radio and mobile phones to promote inclusive educational initiatives to聽increase acceptance of children with albinism in schools. 皇冠体育app University of Coventry will聽also give workshops to provide professional training to specialists in visual impairment.聽
• 皇冠体育app expansion of a web portal in India聽which disseminates information to visually impaired people.聽It will develop the Score Foundation鈥檚 Eyeway project from a radio show, multi-lingual helpdesks, an SMS service and website to include a nationally broadcast TV series.聽聽聽
• A controlled trial, managed by Helen Keller International in Bangladesh, to address the treatment of non-communicable disease diabetic retinopathy. 皇冠体育app project will seek to improve general public knowledge of the condition and increase the numbers receiving treatment.聽聽聽聽聽

Director of Policy and Strategic Programme Support for Sightsavers Dominic Haslam said:

This initiative encapsulates exactly what innovation means to me; working with others to find solutions to existing or new problems in the sectors where we work - and then putting those solutions into practice, testing them and sharing the results as widely as possible.聽

We are hoping that the projects selected will provide a rapid boost to learning in our areas of interest. All results, positive and negative, will be shared as widely as possible within the development sector as well as using them to inform Sightsavers鈥� own programmes.