From Kenya, engineer Norah Magero is leading a project that is changing healthcare logistics in rural areas: the VacciBox, a locally manufactured portable solar fridge. This device allows vaccines to be transported safely in communities without access to electricity, reducing gaps in basic health care.
Magero, a specialist in renewable energy and health technology, is co-founder and CEO of Drop Access, a social enterprise that focuses on local innovation. Her initiative started out as a container to preserve milk from small farmers, but the pandemic turned it towards the distribution of vaccines in remote areas.
The VacciBox incorporates an intelligent system that controls temperature, battery and location, with a lightweight design that makes it easy to transport by bicycle or even on foot. The shift towards domestic production, rather than importing expensive and inefficient models, allowed for lower prices and job creation in a country with a wealth of talent but few resources for technological manufacturing.
The results have been significant: vaccination increased to 150 % in rural communities, with more than 700,000 doses distributed and a direct impact on 250,000 people. The scheme has already been extended to neighbouring countries such as Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania, consolidating Drop Access as a reference in African innovation.
International recognition was not long in coming. In 2022, Magero became the first Kenyan and second woman to receive the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation from the UK's Royal Academy of Engineering. She has also been honoured by her country's government for her contributions to energy access in vulnerable communities.
Beyond technology, Magero defends the need to break down the barriers faced by women in the scientific sector. She recalls that in her engineering studies there was barely one woman for every ten men, and stresses the importance of promoting female vocations. Her goal is clear: an Africa capable of designing, manufacturing and sustaining its own technological solutions, generating employment and development from within the continent.
Source: biznakenya.com; mujeresconciencia.com