Your organization name:
Bioforge Health Systems Ltd
When was your organization founded?
In 2016.
In what city, town, or region are you located?
Dhaka, BangladeshIn what city, town, or region is your organization headquartered?
Dhaka, BangladeshIn which countries does your organization currently operate?
Why are you applying for The Elevate Prize?
We have been on the mission of improving lives for four years with our operations running hand to mouth, finances solely by myself and my sister, my cofounder. To create an impact at speed, support and funding from Elevate will open doors which are currently beyond our grasp by strengthening existing technologies at Bioforge with further research and development. We would use the funding to facilitate clinical trials and manufacturing. The funding will also be used to scale-up production and generate awareness and amplify our work to those who need it. Plans are in place to spend full $500,000 over the course of the next 18 months. The journey for Bioforge is still in its infancy, and like a small child, we need the support, network and collaboration to get to where we know we can be. In a country like Bangladesh, $500,000 can have an impact equivalent to many millions in developed settings. As a doctor, I have a promise to keep and now have a team of 40 people who have made the same promise for the underprivileged people of our country and other low resource settings. This will help us get there that much sooner.
Tell us about YOU:
Experiences during my internship have shown the wide range of suffering people in Bangladesh face without a choice. It has shown me how privileged I am and has made me realize I am in an unique position to make a change, which very few people have the ability to do. I am bound with a deep sense of responsibility. Any human being should not have to make a life and decision, but unfortunately this is something many of the unprivileged people face in society. The easiest way we can change this is through reducing the cost of medical devices to give more people access to life saving medical care. Alongside my practice, I explored sustainable ideas to remedy this situation. Research showed a potential opportunity to work on; developing locally made, low cost innovative medical devices. Slowly I gathered resources and assembled a highly capable and motivated team who shared the same vision and dedication. It is an emotional journey, but now we are a team of 40 strong members with the ultimate goal is to make healthcare affordable and accessible for everyone. No human deserves to be thrown in such an unfair decision determined solely by his financial position.
Pitch your organization.
According to the WHO, Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) have more than 80 million* underserved babies annually with more than 3.3 million preventable death. That's more than half the population of countries like Singapore, Finland and Denmark. Neonatal mortality rates are 28 and 26 per 1000 live births in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, compared with rates of 2 and 3 neonatal deaths per 1000 live births in Western Europe and North America (UNICEF,2019). The poor bear a disproportionate share of the burden of ill health and suffering. The easiest lever for reducing such inequalities is reducing the medical expenses among which the biggest component is the cost of medical devices. Equipment may be designed for specific conditions, including a lack of humidity, reliable electricity, and steady financing, that may not exist in resource-scarce places. And without local capacity to repair specialist equipment, medical devices are likely to gather dust. One estimate is that 40% of healthcare equipment donated to lower-income countries is out of service. Bioforge addresses these issues with a composite approach addressing SDGs 3 and 10, giving accessibility to the have nots.
Describe what makes your work innovative.
Foreign medical technology isn’t suitable in many cases, in terms of affordability, design, financing and repair. In Bangladesh, most medical equipment is imported from other countries which not only adds up to the cost of these devices but oftentimes these devices end up in hardware graveyards due to the lack of technical expertise when it comes to repair and maintenance. At Bioforge, we look at minimizing the costs of manufacturing medical equipment by reverse engineering without losing the basic functionalities and standards. We use locally sourced material and fabrication greatly cutting down the costs of imports and providing around the clock servicing for the full life of the equipment. Some aspects we always keep in mind is to make our devices and applications user friendly and scalable for rapid deployment and usability. We are happy to go into joint ventures so that we can get the technology to the hands of those who need it the most.
How and why is your organization having an impact on humanity?
The equipment made at Bioforge is extremely low cost. 3D printing and laser cutting opens the door to major cost reduction; allowing a larger demographic to access better healthcare options. We plan to launch our devices engaging with local governments and local NGOs such as BRAC and ASHA to impact the people our devices are made for. We use local manufacturing and parts are sourced from local companies decreasing lead times. The functionality and design of our devices are suited to the local environment such as design, transportability and usability, for easy adaption and use.Select the key characteristics of the community your organization is impacting.
Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your organization address?
Which of the following categories best describes your work?
Health
Solution Team
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Afsana Afrin Esha Researcher
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Your job title:
Founder