MERIMS

Inspiration

In recent times, there has been an increase in infant and adult mortality rate in Nigeria from Lower respiratory infections, Neonatal disorders, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Diarrheal diseases, Tuberculosis, Meningitis, lschemic heart disease, Stroke, Cirrhosis and outbreak of infectious diseases.

Lack of adequate data, low access to healthcare facilities, lack of community reporting tools has made it difficult for stakeholders to know where to direct intervention or activism to prevent or reduce unnecessary deaths.

Currently, policy makers and stakeholders heavily rely on estimated statistics that are not backed by research and do not reflect the grim reality out there.

The outbreak of Lassa fever and Coronavirus exposed the weakness in Nigeria's health care system. Recent reports show that Covid-19 has stressed the health care system to the point where hospitals now abandon patients who suffer other chronic diseases. MERIMS will fill the gap by ensuring we isolate those who are vulnerable and in dire need of treatment. The inbuilt self-isolation program will help to ensure that those with minor or mild cases of Covid-19 get the needed support while self-isolating in their home.

What it does

MERIMS focuses on two key areas namely managing health emergencies from epidemic or pandemics as well as risk management of existing communicable and chronic diseases.

MERIMS have two types of data reporting. On one hand are different tools designed for the public to submit emergency reports and surveys from their current location. On the other hand, there are survey tools designed for field interviewers sponsored by stakeholders.

Data obtained from the public and the interviewers are then presented with analytical visual aids such as aggregated figures, charts, maps and artificial intelligence.

Because MERIMS is a tool designed for the public and health stakeholders, we expect demand to keep increasing even as we face an uncertain future of more infectious disease outbreaks.

How I built it

MERIMS focuses on two key areas namely managing health emergencies from epidemic or pandemics as well as risk management of existing communicable and chronic diseases. MERIMS have two types of data reporting. On one hand are different tools designed for the public to submit emergency reports and surveys from their current location. On the other hand, there are survey tools designed for field interviewers sponsored by stakeholders. Data obtained from the public and the interviewers are then presented with analytical visual aids such as aggregated figures, charts, maps and artificial intelligence. MERIMS is designed with two of the best technologies in React.js and Node.js which make it possible to scale up the solution to accommodate more health issues. As the government continues to ease lockdown gradually, the general public can utilize the self-assessment form to evaluate their status and follow suggested recommendations. Increase in Covid-19 cases despite a month of lockdown is an indication that we are now dealing with community transmission.

Challenges I ran into

My main challenge is lack of funds to engage more data scientists and artificial intelligence experts. I am currently limited by my knowledge and expertise in data science.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I was privileged to show the prototype of this product to UNICEF team in one of the State in y country and I was assured that when the product is ready, UNICEF will sponsor the implementation in some selected local government areas for test running. In recent weeks, I have had a couple of meetings with the UNICEF team and the State Primary Health Care Management Board on how the product can be tested first in two LGA. While awaiting their decision, any program such as this that will provide opportunity to improve the product and make it globally competitive will be highly appreciated.

What I learned

I have learnt how to design a fullstack application using React and Node.js from scratch. I have also learnt how to incorporate analytics for real time data analysis.