Four Maltese university students developed a technology-based project aimed at reducing the number of child victims of HIV in developing countries and to help children already living with HIV get the necessary treatment.
This project won the 2011 edition of the Microsoft Imagine Cup local competition, which runs in various countries around the world with the final winners competing for a chance to attend and participate in the worldwide finals which this year will be held in New York.
David Borg, Brendan Cutajar, Rachel Gauci and Glenn Zarb, Team Four-for-All, were mentored by Kristian Guillaumier to design and develop this project.
Fiorella Ellul Sullivan, academic programme manager at Microsoft Malta, asked the students what triggered them to develop such a project.
“Five out of every six children born with HIV in resource-limited countries die before their second birthday. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV can be prevented with the use of antiretroviral drugs taken during pregnancy and labour. Children with HIV can live a relatively normal life when receiving antiretroviral treatment,” explained Rachel Gauci, team leader of Team Four-for-All.
The team members explained how their project addresses such issues. “Made up of two main components, a web portal named LittleRedRibbon.org and a Windows Phone 7 application named Little Red Ribbon Mobile, this project strives to make two vital resources available in developing countries: namely monetary funds for the purchasing of antiretroviral drugs, which are crucial both for the prevention and treatment of HIV in children, and the availability of professional and up-to-date expertise regarding paediatric infectious diseases.”
This application offers offline access to detailed medical profiles, the ability to search, edit and update patient profiles, offline access to a catalogue of all the medications that are available in the region where the clinical examinations are being performed and the ability to view suggestions regarding possible treatment options, provided by medical practitioners on the Little Red Ribbon website. The system also provides an intuitive and easy-to-use interface that makes it easy for different user groups to find a way to help in the fight against HIV.
LittleRedRibbon.org provides detailed medical profiles for every child and mother-to-be, including details such as birth, immunisation, development and drug history, so that medical practitioners can give the best advice possible, access to an online forum, through which the medical practitioners can easily express their professional suggestions to the health care workers who are in contact with these children and women. The website also makes available three flexible ways in which users can contribute monetary donations.
Every month, all received donations are forwarded to humanitarian organisations responsible for the purchasing of necessary drugs. These organisations are also responsible for the verification of health care workers registering on http://LittleRedRibbon.org .