NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

If you are a woman in Uganda, you likely pray you don’t develop vaginal infections – and not just because they are a bitch.

Uganda is home to one of worst healthcare systems in the world, and on top of that, many female health issues carry social stigmas. Embarrassed by problems down there, women often choose to suffer in silence rather than seek medical care – hoping a condition goes away.

For five university students majoring in information technology and engineering, however, the shoddy state of women’s healthcare presented an opportunity. The women have just invented a brilliant device and accompanying app, which they’ve named the Her Health BVKit, to allow women to test for vaginal infections at home.

“The BVKit is a self-test application that helps women check for unhealthy vaginal bacteria, since most are shy to get tested especially with issues concerning their reproductive health, and most wait for their sicknesses to worsen to seek medical attention,” one of the app’s creators, Nanyombi Margaret, told me.