Techies Without Borders

The Botswana Combination Prevention Project (BCPP) is designed for testing and implementing an enhanced combination prevention package for prevention and reduction in HIV/AIDS epidemic in Botswana. A team consisting of Joe Cipolla, Courtney Bell, and Dr. Manoj Thomas worked to determine ways to support maintenance of the electronic data collection (EDC) software that is implemented in Python programming language on Django framework. The EDC software is used for the management of field data for audit by the United Stats Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Health (NIH), and the Harvard School of Public Health. The research will aim to understand the effectiveness of ICT solutions to attain the overarching objective of HIV monitoring and treatment intervention in Botswana. The project will include a research element, where I plan to understand the effectiveness of ICT solutions to attain the overarching objective of HIV monitoring and treatment intervention in Botswana. The research will also aim to identify factors that require consideration for ICT implementation in an environment where the technology resources are scarce, and the maintenance of confidentiality, integrity and privacy of data is critical.

As part of a research project, we have developed a cell phone based solution to track reproductive tract infections (RTI) among women living in marginalized communities (e.g., coastal fishermen communities, refugee women from Myanmar and Somalia living in India, female sex workers, tribal communities, etc.) The solution allows community health workers and medical officers to identify sexual and reproductive health incidents more effectively, and deliver care in a more timely manner. The research will determine the role of ICT in overcoming the challenges of reporting and tracking of RTI among the women living in these marginalized communities. The project has received the backing of the Burmese Women of Delhi (BWD) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UN-HCR).

Along with Dr. George Kasper and Dr. Manoj Thomas, we implemented a multi-location network infrastructure at the Iracambi Research Center, Minas Gerais, Brazil for managing natural resources, developing sustainable communities, and conducting research on rainforest ecosystems. The research center is located in a protected area in one of the world’s top biodiversity location in Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest. The project was sponsored by the United States Farmer-to-Farmer project and funded by USAID.

Small-scale farmers in low-income countries are especially vulnerable to climate change because they depend heavily on rain, seasonality patterns, and known temperature ranges. Prioritizing the efforts of building climate change resilience and adaptive capacity for small-scale farmers is essential in achieving SDGs. An important first step towards those efforts is to assess the climate change vulnerability among the population. We developed Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Framework Design Framework (CCVA-DF) to guide the implementation of innovative digital CCVA solutions to enhance the adaptive capacity and climate change resilience of small-scale farmers. The framework outlines modern methods for vulnerability data collection and processing through Remote Sensing, GIS, and advanced spatial analytics for measuring vulnerabilities, and visual analytics to support decision-making in the planning and implementation of suitable interventions. The framework is instantiated into a web application that is used by a real-world organization for transforming household resilience in Western Honduras.

The ICT4E Haiti initiative aims to address challenges of developing computer literacy in Haiti. As it is one of the poorest nations in the world, more than half the Haitian population lives in acute poverty (less than US $1 per day). Only about 21% of Haitians have access to electricity and less than 50% of the country is literate. To help young Haitians succeed in the 21st century and obtain jobs that may bring them and their family out of poverty, this project aims to build ICT capacity in schools located in the Centre province of Haiti. The project involves customizing ICT solutions for durable fail proof operation in a Haitian setting, and “Training the Trainer” program for developing technological literacy and familiarity among students, teachers and young adults. A finger print based technology solution for immunization record management among primary school children will also be developed. The research element of this project focuses on evaluating the usage and impact of ICT4E in value creation, challenges of developing computer efficacy among young Haitians, and assessing factors that influence the adoption of ICT4E in resource poor countries.