Hakika360

Zihi Institute

Hakika360

Fighting Substandard and Falsified Antibiotics Using Community-led Solution Powered with AI, Geospatial Surveillance and Near Infrared Technologies

Nairobi, Kenya

KEN

Nonprofit

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Hakika360 is looking to solve the problem of Substandard and Falsified antibiotics (SF). Substandard and falsified antibiotics pose a crucial threat to health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Kenya. Among other causes, SF antibiotics fuels antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which is predicted to be the next pandemic if no action is taken. Annually, SF have been associated with about 169,000 childhood pneumonia deaths globally (WHO, 2017). Substandard and Falsified medicines cost world economies $200 billion yearly, with 70% of losses being in Africa. It is estimated that up to 35% of antibiotics consumed in Sub-Saharan Africa are SF. In Kenya, SF antibiotics infiltrate community-level settings due to weak surveillance, limited cost-effective authentication systems, poor manufacturer-user linkage and sometimes due to poor professional ethics.

Hakika360 addresses the lack of real-time, community-level SF detection by empowering community health volunteers (CHVs) with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to identify and report SF antibiotics. Hakika360 leverages technologies; a mobile application, AI, NIR, and geospatial surveillance technology to ensure rapid detection of SF antibiotics within communities in low-resource settings. CHVs trained community members linking the community and formal health facilities and are supervised by Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs). They make home visits and deliver health promotion messages, and treat common ailments. CHVs will use mobile applications to upload geotagged images of antibiotics packaging materials, tablets and capsules dispensed to community members. The images will be analyzed by an AI drug verification engine for visual anomalies compared with a database of genuine drug images. Flagged samples will be scanned by officers equipped with smartphones with miniaturized NIR spectroscopy modules for non-destructive chemical analysis. Analysis will be fully AI-automated and when a positive SF identification is confirmed, the suspected SF samples will be referred to Pharmacy and Poisons Boards (PPB) for in-depth laboratory analysis. The solution will have a live dashboard visualizing SF prevalence for PPB, Market Authorization Holders (MAHs) and manufacturers, enabling rapid response.

Our solution will be piloted to serve communities across 2 counties in Kenya. According to Kenya Census (2019), Nairobi and Kiambu are the most populated counties in Kenya accounting for about 17% of the total 47 counties population. The 2 counties also present a blend of urban, peri-urban, and rural settings, including slums. Tegegne, et al,. (2024) found that these communities are at greater risk of SF antibiotics due to less regulations, limited access to healthcare facilities and low purchasing power. Further, they do not scrutinize between illegal and legal outlets and are prone to consuming SF medications driving antimicrobial resistance which pushes them deeper into poverty due to untreatable infections that keep them in hospitals reducing their productivity. Equipping communities with Hakika360, will enable real-time detection of SF antimicrobials at the community levels, reducing their circulation and hence safeguarding the health of the community. The Geospatial Surveillance capability will generate data that will be useful in guiding the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Kenya, the national drugs regulatory authority, on the areas to strengthen post-marketing surveillance on. Due to AI integration, the solution will cut costs involved when hiring pharmacists to interpret data collected.