This archive report was first published on 21 June 2020.
As the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, African innovators turned to home-grown solutions to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
By the time the virus hit Africa, where cases had risen relatively slowly, images of overwhelmed hospitals and stories of health workers strapped for protective gear had been streaming in for weeks.
Enterprising individuals like Mehul Shah from Ultra Red Technologies in Nairobi, Kenya, quickly realized they could be 'first responders' in producing locally-made equipment.
Shah and his partner Neeval Shah designed and produced 3D-printed face shields, capable of producing around 500 units a day.
"It's very important that we can show Kenyans that we can do this here and we don't need to rely on importation. We have got the innovative know-how and the means to get this done here," Shah told AFP on June 21, 2020.
Kenya's tech scene is also working on contact-tracing apps, with FabLab developing an application called Msafari, which can track passengers on public transport.
Another 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.
Engineering students in collaboration with the medical department at the Kenyatta University produced a low-cost ventilator at a tenth of the price of an imported machine.
Doctor Gordon Ogweno, a medical professor at the university, said Kenya had about 50 working ventilators for a population of more than 50 million.
"We are making machines with locally available material... pandemics can come and go but other conditions also require critical care," Ogweno said.
