FONGWAMA : Programme de lutte contre le paludisme

Actively working to reinforce the fight against malaria in Congo

Project start date : 22/06/2015

Beneficiary country : Congo (the)

Healthcare themes targeted

  • Primary healthcare
  • Malaria/paludism
  • Access to quality medicines/pharmacies

Fields of application

  • Health professional training
  • Information, education and communication for behaviour change (IEC)
  • Other(s) (specify)

Stage of development

  • Pilot project/testing/trials

Financing method

  • Private (private investors, crowdfunding, philanthropy, etc.)

Area where the project is utilised

  • National (in one country only)

Economic model(s)

  • Subsidies

About the project

Fongwama supports the fight against malaria by using digital technologies to: • Raise awareness and inform the public. • Collect data. • Support research in the fight against malaria.Two applications have been developed as part of this initiative:1. The EduPalu application is designed for the entire population, providing: § Clear information on malaria in the Congo. § ‘Basic’ training, in edutainment style, in what the disease is: quiz, parasite hunt. § Help in locating health clinics and pharmacies.2. The DensiPara application makes it possible to calculate parasite density (estimating the plasmodial load) in an individual infected with malaria. This application is made available to laboratory technicians and is useful for diagnosing malaria by microscopy.


Problems to be solved:DensiPara makes it possible to avoid lab-technician errors in calculating parasitic density and to archive information (in compliance with WHO standards).EduPalu provides access to information for malaria prevention (clear, easy-access information); it also uses edutainment (parasite hunt) and supports access to care (geolocation of pharmacies).


Facilitate information access through mobile phone use: The Fongwama web platform develops and publishes open-source applications, available for free, permanent download by anyone. The Fongwama platform is made possible by a Congolese free-software community.

6 Full-Time equivalents

N/C Employees

30 Volunteers

5 Service providers

FONGWAMA : Programme de lutte contre le paludisme

500

Number of beneficiaries since launch

Target audience

  • Healthcare professionals and structures (hospitals, healthcare centres/clinics, health networks)
  • Entire population
  • Sick people
  • Other

Project objectives

  • Improved treatment
  • Other (please explain)

Materials used

  • Cellular (mobile) phone
  • Smartphone
  • Tablet
  • Computer

Technologies used

  • Geolocation
  • Mobile app (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, HTML5, etc.)

About the sponsor

FONGWAMA

Fongwama, which means ‘to become open to’ in Lingala, is the Congolese platform for free software development. This association, an initiative of the Fondation ECAir and the Skepsos firm, joined forces with the Congolese Foundation for Medical Research (FCRM) and the Azur Foundation to develop mobile applications to help fight malaria. The community pools its skills to provide new, royalty-free solutions. Fongwama organises and hosts events (such as the HealthHack) to give everyone the chance to become open to a new way of thinking, sharing and, above all, using their knowledge and skills to serve others.

Sector : Institutions (Communities, public authorities, NGOs, foundations, etc.)

Country of origin : Congo (the)

Contact : Sponsor website Project website

Back to projects

Offline use

Yes

Open source

Yes

Open data

No

Independent evaluation

No

Partners

  • Programme National de Lutte contre le Paludisme

    Institutions (Communities, public authorities, NGOs, foundations, etc.)

  • Skepsos (cabinet de conseil)

    Industrial (Startups, enterprises, etc.)

  • Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale (recherche santé)

    Healthcare (professionals and structures)

  • Fondation Azur (télécommunications)

    Industrial (Startups, enterprises, etc.)