What is the name of your organization?
Impala Healthtech Research Ltd
What is the name of your solution?
DIGAMS: Digital AMS System
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Providing seamless access to advanced diagnostics, and AI driven insights to optimise antimicrobial use in low resource settings.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Kampala, Uganda
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
UGA
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
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What specific problem are you solving?
We are addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and inadequate infectious disease diagnostics in low-resource settings. AMR is one of the top 10 global health threats, directly causing 1.3 million deaths annually and contributing to 4.9 million globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, AMR is emerging as the leading cause of mortality from infectious diseases, surpassing HIV and tuberculosis. In Uganda, AMR is estimated to cause 30,000 deaths annually—more than any infectious disease except malaria—and contributes an estimated $108 million to healthcare costs and $500 million in economic losses.
This crisis is largely driven by limited diagnostic capacity. Uganda, with nearly 50 million people, has fewer than 20 accredited microbiology laboratories. Over 95% of health facilities lack appropriate microbial testing capacity, resulting in overreliance on empirical treatment and misuse of antimicrobials.
If no effective action is taken, AMR could lead to 10 million deaths per year by 2050 and cause trillions in global economic losses. Low-resource settings will bear the greatest burden due to a high prevalence of infectious diseases and weak laboratory infrastructure. Our solution aims to reverse this trend by improving access to microbial diagnostics and promoting evidence-based antimicrobial use at scale.
What is your solution?
DIGAMS is a digital platform designed to fight AMR and improve infectious disease treatment in low-resource settings. It brings together innovative technologies to make microbial diagnostics and responsible antimicrobial use accessible and effective.
First, DIGAMS hosts a digital laboratory marketplace that connects health facilities lacking lab capacity to accredited microbiology laboratories. This helps clinicians access essential diagnostic services, including antimicrobial susceptibility tests.
Second, it offers a data-driven treatment support tool powered by AI. This tool guides clinicians, especially those working in under-equipped facilities on the best antimicrobial options during both empirical and evidence-based treatment. It’s especially useful in cases where lab results take time or are unavailable altogether.
Third, DIGAMS includes an automated antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) tool. Based on a WHO toolkit, this module allows health workers and community health teams to assess and improve how antibiotics are used. The system also tracks digital usage patterns as a proxy for AMS performance.
DIGAMS ensures effective treatment of infections, reduces unnecessary antibiotics use, and promotes long-term antimicrobial stewardship. Built using Django, Flutter, and Tailwind, DIGAMS is optimized for mobile and low bandwidth use, making it accessible in the most remote health facilities.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
DIGAMS currently serves residents of Kawempe Division, Kampala—a densely populated urban area with nearly 300,000 people, most of whom live in slum conditions. The community experiences a high burden of infectious diseases and is a known epicenter of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Resistance rates to commonly used antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin often exceed 50%, and the close living conditions accelerate the spread of resistant infections between households.
Over 94% of health facilities in Kawempe are small, privately run clinics or Health Centre IIs that lack microbial diagnostic capacity and trained personnel for effective antimicrobial stewardship. As a result, infections are often mismanaged with empirical, and sometimes irrational, use of antibiotics—contributing to worsening AMR and poor health outcomes.
DIGAMS directly addresses these gaps by linking under-equipped clinics to accredited laboratories through a digital marketplace for microbial diagnostics. It supports clinicians with AI-driven treatment guidance and empowers both facility staff and community health workers to assess and improve antimicrobial use using our automated stewardship tool.
By improving access to diagnostics, guiding rational drug use, and promoting stewardship, DIGAMS enhances treatment outcomes, reduces AMR spread, and ultimately improves health and healthcare quality in underserved communities.
