专家，健康创新的电力“不需要”

易于使用的设备，包括便携式呼吸监测系统和具有延长电池寿命的通风器health创新由世界卫生组织（WHO）确定以帮助管理COVID-19在低资源设置中。

The compendium of 24 new technologies also includes novel, simple items such as a colourised bleach additive that allows the naked eye to detect non-sterilised surfaces, to help improve basic hygiene during the pandemic, says the WHO.

New technologies are accelerating access to healthcare everywhere but they must be made readily available in all health facilities, fairly priced and quality assured, the health body stressed.

“There must also be a deliberate effort at capacity building not only for consumption of such technologies but also for knowledge transfer whereby people at the grassroots are equipped with the knowledge to maintain and even improve such innovations.”

Jeremiah Owiti, executive director, Centre for Independent Research, Nairobi

Adriana Velazquez Berumen, WHO senior advisor for medical devices, said: “WHO has been collecting innovative technologies that can be impactful at places where there is unstable electricity and a lack of specialised health workforce.”

她说，谁任命了专家小组来审查此类创新的技术规格，法规合规性和技术管理。

“Many of the experts are from low- to middle-income countries and will provide more insight into the emerging technologies as well as help in collecting data on the use of such technologies,” she toldscidev.net。

The aim of the compendium is to select and assess technologies that can have immediate and future impact on COVID-19 preparedness and response and offer solutions to unmet medical needs, according to the WHO. It said 15 of the technologies were already commercially available in some countries, while the rest were still at prototype stage.

引用的一个例子是一种由太阳能氧浓缩剂，用于治疗索马里戈尔穆杜格州的地区儿童医院的儿童肺炎。

Pneumonia accounts for 800,000 deaths per year and the WHO estimates that 20 to 40 per cent of these deaths could be prevented if oxygen therapy was available.

Berumen explains that the system, which was developed by a Canadian entrepreneur, uses battery and solar power to create commercial oxygen. She said the equipment was particularly useful at a time when COVID-19 has accelerated global demand for oxygen and made delivery of oxygen supplies increasingly urgent.

“The concentrator works to ensure oxygen is given in healthcare settings where oxygen is unavailable and electricity is unstable,” said Berumen.

“例如，在索马里的该地区，它在治疗儿童肺炎方面非常有效。

“It is expected that more units could be purchased in the future to support oxygen delivery and good patient outcomes.”

在南非，坦桑尼亚和孟加拉国，这是一个智能手机应用程序，使人们能够在家中测量自己的血压，而无需使用其他设备或设备进行测试。

Berumen说，正在进行研究以在不同环境中测试产品，以期在低收入和中等收入国家中更广泛地使用它。

According to Anuraj Shankar, lead researcher at the Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit in Jakarta, Indonesia, enabling anyone to asses blood pressure accurately with an already available device such as a smartphone opens the door to personal monitoring of many acute and chronic medical conditions.

Shankar说：“ Shankar说：“这是技术在Covid-19世界中赋予健康和至关重要的技术的巨大飞跃。

“The synergy with other point-of-care tests [tests done with the patient rather than in a laboratory] and the transition to digital health globally means optimal care for pregnant women experiencing hypertension, and will lead to more healthy mothers and healthy babies.”

内罗毕独立研究中心执行董事耶利米·欧蒂蒂（Jeremiah Owiti）表示，扩大新兴健康技术和创新的扩展面临严重的挑战，尤其是在低至中等收入国家。

“We are not just talking about common problems like prohibitive costs of such technologies, or lack of capacity and human capital, but endemic corruption that ensures critical infrastructure such as roads and electricity supply are missing,” Owiti toldscidev.net。

他认为，需要一致的政策来涵盖基层技术的采购，供应和部署。

“There must also be a deliberate effort at capacity building not only for consumption of such technologies but also for knowledge transfer whereby people at the grassroots are equipped with the knowledge to maintain and even improve such innovations,” Owiti said.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Global desk.