There is now a Urine Malaria Test (UMT) in Nigeria
Fyodor Urine Malaria Test (UMT), a malaria test that diagnoses the disease within 25 minutes using drops of urine samples, received the 2015 Health Innovation Challenge Awards on Tuesday, October 28. The award comes with a grant of $100,000 and an enrollment in the Nigerian Health Innovation Marketplace (NHIM) programme; both benefits are aimed at supporting the innovators in their contribution to saving lives and improving the society.
Eddy Agbo, the developer of the UMT and Chief Executive Officer, was previously presented with the Outstanding Business Innovation by Africa Diaspora Award by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in December, 2014.
According to him, the UMT will be available in pharmacies across Nigeria, starting next week, and will be distributed by Geneith Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Ltd. UMT is endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), and approved by NAFDAC.
In a first of its kind achievement, the studies to determine the clinical performance of the test were carried out in Enugu State, Nigeria, last year. The innovators received collaboration from University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, University of Lagos, College of Medicine, the Federal Ministry of Health, and more.