WHO publishes a new collection of innovative health technologies for COVID-19 and other priority diseases

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for innovative health technologies that can help countries improve health outcomes by providing shortcuts to solutions despite a lack of infrastructure and resources. However, many new technologies that have entered the market are unavailable or unsuitable for low- and middle-income countries.

To ensure that all countries benefit from health innovations, the WHO has compiled a collection of 24 new technologies that can be used in low-resource environments.

“Innovative technologies enhance access to health care everywhere, but we need to ensure that they are easily available in all health facilities, affordable and quality assured,” said Dr. Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant Director General for Access to Health Products. “WHO will continue to work with governments, donors and manufacturers to promote a sustainable supply of these tools during and outside the COVID emergency.”

The main goal of the proceedings was to select and evaluate technologies that could have an immediate and future impact on preparedness and response to COVID-19, potentially improve health outcomes and quality of life, and / or offer a solution to unmet medical needs. 15 of these technologies are already commercially available in the countries, while the rest are still in the prototype stage.

The summary includes simple items, ranging from a colored bleaching additive, which allows the naked eye to identify unsterilized surfaces and objects, to more complex equipment that is easy to use, such as a portable respiratory monitoring system and a fan with an extended battery that can be used where electric energy is not available or is unstable. The list also includes a medical facility for emergencies arranged in a transport container.

Some of these technologies are already in use and have proven their value through pilot programs. For example, a solar-powered oxygen concentrator has been very effective in treating pneumonia, which kills 900,000 children a year, in regional children’s hospital in the Somali state of Galmudug.

Studies have shown that reliable access to oxygen can reduce the death of children due to pneumonia by 35%. Given the lack of oxygen in many countries, the concentrator is a critical tool in the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID.

WHO has been evaluating innovative technologies for the past 10 years, some of the selected products are now addressing priority health issues in low-resource environments. A critical example is the smartphone app that allows the user to instantly record accurate blood pressure measurements. According to a WHO report last week, the number of adults aged 30 to 79 with hypertension has risen from 650 million to 1.28 billion in the last thirty years, and nearly half of those people are unaware that they have hypertension.

Smartphones are widely available, even in the most remote areas or settings with low resources. The software-based platform turns existing smartphones into a medical device capable of accurately measuring blood pressure, without the need to add other devices or accessories. Another advantage of the application is that patients can test themselves and better control blood pressure even in the absence of a trained healthcare professional.

The summary provides a full assessment of the technologies, conducted by a group of international experts working with WHO technical teams, based on: compliance with WHO specifications in terms of performance, quality and safety; suitability in low resource settings; accessibility; Ease of use; and regulatory approval status. This information is vital to assist governments, NGOs, and donors in deciding which products to procure.

Conclusions on the suitability of each technology are communicated by a simple scoreboard system indicating whether the product recommended (for use without known restrictions); recommended with caution (restrictions on maintenance and the need for trained staff may have been identified); or not recommended (inappropriate, insecure, or unavailable).