KUKUA

Together with Inclusive Global Health Design Lab at TU Delft, KUKUA Team aims to design a growth monitoring device able to measure weight, height and upper arm circumference of infants in the first five years of their life.

Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) have been crucial since the 1980s, providing basic healthcare services within Community Health Units serving about 5,000 people each. Kenya's healthcare system faces challenges such as inadequate access to facilities, a shortage of medical personnel, and limited medical records access.

The KUKUA interpretation of the mission focuses on solving the current problem of traveling with the device throughout long and hard journeys. The goal is improving the CHV experience through an easy-to-carry product (portability) that optimally integrates all components (affordance) and functions correctly (accuracy) for a product life span of 5 years (robustness).

Driven by the vision of 'Effortless is more,' the team minimized the effort required by CHVs during healthcare practices. Its compact size, similar to a water bottle, ensures portability. The device uses both analog and digital measurement methods, providing reliable and precise growth data.

KUKUA brought our team to the Prototyping for Humanity conference in Dubai, UAE, where we pitched our project and connected with entrepreneurs and UNICEF officers. The collected data serves as a valuable resource for collaboration with global NGOs to improve healthcare in Kenya.