Here's how Africans are using tech to tackle COVID-19

African scientists and innovators have turned to homegrown solutions to combat coronavirus

Published: May 19, 2020 09:30 Compiled by Christian Borbon, Digital Content Editor and with inputs from AFP

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Mehul Shah, the director of Ultra Red Techlogies, displays a 3D printed face shield, to be used for protection of the entire face area from splashes, sprays and spatter of bodily fluids as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 . Image Credit: AFP

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Mehul Shah works on ear protectors for a 3D printed face shield. Image Credit: AFP

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In only three days they put together a working design for 3D-printed face shields made up of a visor that clips onto a plastic sheet. Image Credit: AFP

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They are currently producing around 500 a day. Image Credit: AFP

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Another busy area of innovation has been the production of ventilators, which have been in short supply even in rich countries as COVID-19 patients needing oxygen have swamped hospitals | A prototype of a low-cost ventilator is seen in a lab where a team of engineers and students are working on designs of the low-cost ventilators in Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: AFP

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A 3D modelling of a prototype of the low-cost ventilator is seen at a lab where a team of engineers and students are working on designs of the low-cost ventilators in Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: AFP

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Fidel Mukatia, an electrical engineering student from Kenyatta University, demonstrates the designed ventilator, at the university's facility (Chandaria Business Innovation Incubation Centre) in Nairobi to mitigate the shortage experienced in the country and fight against COVID-19. Image Credit: AFP

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Students at Kenyatta University have been working ventilators, one of the ways African scientists are looking at homegrown virus solutions. Image Credit: AFP

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A team of engineers and students works on a design of a low-cost ventilator at a lab where a team of engineers and students are working on designs of the low-cost ventilators in Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: AFP

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Barnabas, a Computer Engineering student, puts together a part of a prototype of the low-cost ventilator in Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: AFP

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Nathaniel Asiak, a second-year computer engineering student, works on a prototype ventilator at a lab where a team of engineers and students are working on designs of the low-cost ventilators in Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: AFP

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A man holds a part of a low-cost ventilator in a lab where a team of engineers and students are working on designs of the low-cost ventilators in Accra, Ghana. Image Credit: AFP

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