Impact Stories from Public Health Policy Area

Fellow named a TED Fellow 2024 for health tech work

Fellow(s): Norah Magero

Country: Kenya

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Public Health

Fellow named a TED Fellow 2024 for health tech work

Fellow Norah Magero (Kenya, 2022), co-founder and CEO of Drop Access Limited, has been selected as a TED Fellow 2024.
Drop Access developed VacciBox, a cold chain solution for delivering heat-sensitive medications to rural communities.
The Ted Fellows Program recognizes professionals who have identified solutions to world changing ideas. They described Norah’s contribution as “connecting the dots between technology, medicine and energy to revolutionize vaccine deliveries in rural Africa” in their selection announcement.
Through the Ted Fellows Program, Norah will have access to tools and training, present her ideas and contributions through TED Talks, and be connected to the TED community.

Report Date...: 04/29/2024

Fellow makes history as first Egyptian to deliver an address at the World Down Syndrome Day hosted by the UN in New York

Fellow(s): Aliaa Ahmed

Country: Egypt

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Professional Development, Public Health

Fellow Aliaa Ahmed (Egypt, 2022) recently made history as the first Egyptian to address the Down Syndrome Conference on World Down Syndrome Day hosted by the United Nations in New York March 21 to 22. Representing the Egyptian Down Syndrome Foundation, Aliaa presented the results of her master’s thesis on health justice and equality, with a focus on the role of healthcare providers in implementing mental health support and health justice for individuals with intellectual disabilities. She also proposed a model tailored to developing countries, as opposed to the method of adopting models from advanced nations that may not suit the circumstances of all nations. Aliaa graduated from Tanta University’s College of Pharmacy and currently holds the position of Senior Manager of Program Strategies at Egyptian Food Bank Labs. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the American University in Cairo. Her advocacy is rooted in her personal experience as the mother of a daughter born with Down syndrome, to whom she refers to as “Sophie the Spark.” Aliaa developed the first national awareness campaign for individuals with Down syndrome, elevating understanding and awareness of the chromosomal anomaly through events such as marathons and conferences attended by influential figures, artists and media outlets. Aliaa has worked tirelessly at “preparing the world to embrace her [daughter] as she deserves,” she says. “Through our findings, we aim to empower the often-silenced voices in healthcare

Report Date...: 4/22/2024

Fellow featured in BBC Africa article as satellite work pioneer

Fellow(s): Marie Makuate

Country: Cameroon

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Development, Public Health, Youth Engagement

Report Date...: 04/15/2024

Mentor(s): Eileen Brewer, Amberle Fant, Angie Chang, Ateka Ali, Beth Steinberg, Caitlin Doyle, Cynthia Leung, Dana Riggs, Diane Manning, Jennine Heller, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, Katy Dickinson, Larissa Shapiro, Laura Messerschmitt, Liv Imset, Maryann Hrichak, Samera Edwards, Shagufta Ahmed, Shawne Van Deusen-Jeffries, Shradha Balakrishnan, Teresa Williams

Company: 757 Accelerate

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Public Health

TechWomen mentors and partners took the initiative to collaborate in recent months and generate over $13,000 in financial support for displaced Palestinians, primarily located in Cairo, Egypt, who have been impacted by the conflict in Gaza. With coordination by U.S. mentor Eileen Brewer, over 40 TechWomen mentors, community members, partners and friends have arranged the raising and transfer of funds to support billing and supply costs for over 400 hospital patients and caregivers in Cairo. Partners in the fundraiser were able to visit several hospitals in Cairo to distribute care packages, distribute funding for over 200 meals, gift toys to more than 50 child patients, and arrange billing coverage for Palestinians facing severe medical procedures and childbirth costs. They have also been able to provide aid to displaced persons, including TechWomen fellows and their families, inside of Gaza — to help secure emergency provisions such as tents. Eileen is the Executive Director of 757 Accelerate, a selective, mentor-driven startup acceleration program. She was recently the subject of a USA today feature, “Eileen Brewer, Catalyst in Youth STEM, Shares Insights from Her Global Experiences.” The known donors to the grassroots effort include mentors Amberle Fant, Angie Chang, Ateka Ali, Beth Steinberg, Caitlin Doyle, Cynthia Leung, Dana Riggs, Diane Manning, Jennine Heller, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, Katy Dickinson, Larissa Shapiro, Laura Messerschmitt, Liv Imset, Maryann Hrichak, Samera Edwards, Shagufta Ahmed, Shawne Van Deusen-Jeffries, Shradha Balakrishnan and Teresa Williams. News of further fundraising efforts continue to pour in from the mentor and partner community, raising the current aid amount far above $13,000. Mentor Jessica Dickinson Goodman recently co-hosted an art-based fundraising event that brought in an estimated $5,000 dollars and counting. She has also worked since November to track the well-being statuses of Gazan fellows and their families. Mentor Shagufta Ahmed shares that she initially raised $1,500 by hosting a silent auction-style event and has continued her efforts. “People were generous and donated a lot. It motivated me and I have since raised $5,200 more.”

Report Date...:

a woman-led nonprofit advancing equity for women and girls in Libya

Fellow(s): Tamadhur Abukhamadah Almahdi, Esra Alamami, Noran Buzgaia

Country: Libya

Cohort: 2022, 2023

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Public Health

Fellow Tamadhur Abukhamadah Almahdi (Libya, 2022) recently founded Women for Women LY, a woman-led nonprofit organization working to advance equity for women and girls in Libya through advocacy, action and connection. Since its establishment in late 2023, Women for Women LY has held a series of in-person and online events focused on bringing women and girls together to share and explore topics such as entrepreneurship, data science, operations management, programming, teaching, career journeys and mental well-being. Tamadhur has leveraged her connections with the TechWomen alumnae community in growing Women for Women LY, featuring fellows Ibtihal Elshami (Libya, 2020-2021) and Esra Alamami (Libya, 2022) in her International Day of Women and Girls in Science panel discussion, as well as Noran Buzgaia (Libya, 2023) as a guest speaker in her International Women’s Day event. “I decided to start Women for Women LY because I’m a firm believer in the power of community, mentorship and connection,” Tamadhur shared in a recent post. “The possibilities are endless; the future we dream of could become our reality, our hard-earned lessons could serve as a guiding compass for the younger generation of women and girls, and what we can bring to our community and the world is a lot more significant than our individual contributions.”

Report Date...: 3/11/2024

Fellow and CEO featured in video showcasing impact of NGO’s medication delivery innovation

Fellow(s): Norah Magero

Country: Kenya

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Professional Development, Public Health

Fellow and CEO featured in video showcasing impact of NGO’s medication delivery innovation, Vaccibox

Fellow Norah Magero (Kenya, 2022) was recently featured in a video, “Ingenious Solutions for Rural Health: The Story of Vaccibox in Kenya,” a production of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, which highlights her work in providing innovate vaccine delivery solutions.

Norah is the co-founder and CEO of Drop Access, a non-profit focused on rural energy access. Through Drop Access, she has lead the team developing Vaccibox, a portable, solar-powered refrigerated box that safely stores and transports heat-sensitive medications and medical items for delivery to rural locations. It can be wheeled by hand or mounted on various vehicles, including motorcycles, boats and pack animals. It also features a proprietary printed circuit board that monitors the interior temperature, battery storage, location of the box and more. In remote regions where terrain, resources, or even cultural morays, impede access to conventional brick and mortar health facilities, healthcare workers are able to deliver care to rural patients with Vaccibox.

“Our dream is to scale this impact in the whole of Africa,” Norah shared in a recent post. “In the face of climate change, VacciBox is promising to help reach the most underserved populations, where access to healthcare is often a critical challenge.”

Report Date...: 01/22/2024

Team Sierra Leone launches Wata Na Life impact project

Fellow(s): Faatu Kanneh, Makalay Sesay, Mary Lusenie, Monica Sellu, Titoh Sallay Sheriff

Country: Sierra Leone

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Public Health

Team Sierra Leone launches Wata Na Life impact project

Fellows Faatu Kanneh, Makalay Sesay, Mary Lusenie, Monica Sellu and Titoh Sallay Sheriff (Sierra Leone, 2022) recently implemented the first phase of their seed grant-winning impact project, Wata Na Life, which was established to advance access to clean, safe and sustainable water and provide water treatment solutions to prevent illness.

Launched in Grafton, Sierra Leone, the inaugural event featured the team handing off their recently installed clean water tank to the local community stakeholders.

The project was made possible with the funding of a $3,000 USD seed grant from TechWomen along with support garnered from the Milla Group and Guma Valley Water Company. A highlight included a visit from impact coach Barham Zuhdi, who attended the groundbreaking event.

Report Date...: 1/1/2024

Fellow(s): Nezha Larhrissi

Country: Morocco

Cohort: 2013

Policy Area(s): Public Health

Fellow-led NGO, eSTEM Morocco, recognized by U.S. Ambassador to Morocco for Marrakech-Safi earthquake aid work

Fellow Nezha Larhrissi (Morocco, 2013), President of seed grant-funded NGO eSTEM Morocco, was invited for a special meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Morocco H.E Puneet Talwar to acknowledge and discuss the NGO’s intervention and aid efforts taken this fall following the 6.8 magnitude Marrakech-Safi earthquake in Morocco. ESTEM Morocco took part in a consortium of six other NGOs led by Association Maa Wa Namaa, which galvanized a caravan of relief workers to advance on the impacted region within 48 hours of the initial quake, offering field support to some 1300 families in 27 douars across Alhaouz, Taroudant, Chichaoua and Essaouira.

Nezha led a group of voluntary Moroccan IT engineers and oversaw the production of a portable mapping system, SeismeHUB, which provided timely insights pinpointing where urgent relief support was most needed across the more than 2000 douars severely impacted by the earthquake. In addition, eSTEM Morocco bridged and fostered connections between various working groups supporting communication, medical aid, field operations, reconstruction, digital data processing, fundraising, documentation and finance.

“On the ground we took also care of talking to women and girls, trying to provide presence and psychological relief,” Nezha detailed in recent communications.

The results of the response efforts can be found in an Arabic-language report prepared by Maa Wa Namaa.

Report Date...: 12/25/2023

Fellow gives talk on upcoming public health initiative

Fellow(s): Aliaa Ahmed (Egypt, 2022)

Country: Egypt

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Professional Development, Public Health

Fellow Aliaa Ahmed (Egypt, 2022) recently delivered an address unveiling an upcoming public health campaign at 4th International Annual Conference of the Egyptian Academy of Bone Health and Metabolic Bone Disease in Cairo. Representing the Egyptian Food Bank (EFB), where she serves as the Growth Lab’s Head of the Nutrition and Research Unit, Aliaa outlined their upcoming Vitamin-D centered wellness initiative to promote national health outcomes, particularly in the elderly population, by raising awareness, distributing supplements, and providing educational resources on the vital role of Vitamin D in health. In her role at EFB, Aliaa shapes public programming and data-driven reporting. She is also the founder of Dep-Nomken, an initiative addressing the nutritional needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities, and a public health and nutrition lecturer at both the American University in Cairo and Tanta University.

Report Date...: 11/20/2023