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By Nwakaego Alajemba
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced Algorizmi as winner of the Nigeria COVID-19 Innovative Challenge after a grueling pitch event spearheaded by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.
Algorizmi takes the first prize of N1,000,000. The patient management solution particularly for victims of COVID-19 allows health managers to properly address the inherent risks of lung damage by ensuring ventilators are properly handled and monitored in situations of rapidly changing lung compliance, and possible collapse. https://twitter.com/faristwits/status/1247602280897155072?s= 19.
The Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge held as an online innovative challenge set up to meet current global challenges resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic.
Organized by the NITDA through its subsidiary, Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE), the Challenge, is part of NITDA’s strategic initiatives to identify and showcase innovative tech solutions that will help in containing the pandemic, cushion its effects, create awareness on measures to prevent the spread and engage stakeholders in discussion. It was opened to Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora.
Smart Disinfection Chamber emerged second to win the N750,000 cash prize. This solution is a smart tunnel which can be used for disinfection of persons entering any location, using the appropriate disinfection liquid. It is smart and automatic, thus requires no human for operation: https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=Z-lysSkwB08.
The third position with a cash prize of N500,000 went to Myclinic.ng, an online platform that enables users to hold video consultations with qualified medical doctors from anywhere and at anytime either using its mobile app or via a toll free line (08100006975): https://play.google.com/store/a pps/details?id=com.ver.patient.vi dyo.doctor
Covid Tracker was adjudged fourth. The solution enables the building of a crowd source mapping system to support entries from various people from their state and locations. It helps in contact tracing and in identification of returnees in addition to live and updated information from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on confirmed cases, death, lockdown, discharged, tracking fake news, and contacts tracing where possible – all using mapping and various API: https://youtu.be/uEMVrXYYU7Y
The fifth position went to COViRR 20. This is a robot that helps the frontline team to deliver food and medical supplies to covid19 patients by remotely driving the robot to deliver material while maintaining physical distancing rule. This helps to reduce the cross infection of the virus between the coronavirus patients and the medical team: https://youtu.be/uEMVrXYYU7Y
According to NITDA, half of the cash prize will go into bringing the solutions to live through partnership with hubs.
“Today we are confronted with a crisis like no other. A dual crisis, health and economic crises. What is going on is unprecedented that you and I have not seen in living memory. The virus is causing health crisis, and the lockdown needed to keep the virus in check is causing economic crisis. What was normal just few weeks ago such as going to school, attending religious congregation, and socializing with family and friends, is now a huge risk,” said Director General of the NITDA, Mallam Inuwa Kashifu Abdullahi at the Final Demo and Prize Giving Day held virtually this week in Abuja via Microsoft Teams.
“I believe we will overcome this crisis the same way humanity defeated the previous crises but the timing is not under our control. What is under our control is how we keep the virus under control and prepare for the post-pandemic. Therefore, this initiative, the Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge is aimed at identifying innovative ideas from our talented youth, incubate, prototype and develop the ideas into a digital solutions that can help us contain the virus and prepare us for post covid era,” added Abdullahi.
NITDA remains at the forefront of supporting digital solutions that can add value to national development, said the NITDA’s boss while thanking Dr Pantami for support as well as the agency’s partners in achieving the objectives of the Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge as hinged on the Digital Nigeria agenda.
His words: “We are prioritizing digital solution because that is the only thing working during this pandemic. And the pandemic is accelerating technology trends shaping the future of digital world and digital economy in general. Imagine being in this crisis without digital technology. Our life would have been miserable, therefore our recovery and exit strategy should be based on what is working now. As a nation we can have all the technologies and talent but to extract value we need clear objectives and mechanism. Our broader objective is fast recovery to normal and our mechanism is our National Digital Economy Strategy and Plan– which highlights initiatives for Digital Nigeria.”
