Simprints chosen for prestigious DIV grant
A Simprints project has been chosen from hundreds of applications to receive the prestigious USAID Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) grant.
‘Testing a Biometric Identification System to Improve Malaria Vaccine Rates’ is a new impact evaluation project that will measure the impact of Simprints’ solution: a digital vaccination record system linked to biometrics which automatically identifies children who have missed a vaccine, and sends voice message reminders to caregivers.
What is the DIV program?
Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) is USAID’s tiered, evidence-based, open innovation program that funds breakthrough solutions to the world’s toughest development challenges.
DIV believes that the best ideas can come from anyone, anywhere. The program supports innovators and researchers around the world to test new ideas, take strategic risks, build evidence of what works, and advance the best solutions. DIV looks for solutions that demonstrate rigorous evidence of impact, cost-effectiveness, and a viable pathway to scale and sustainability.
2024 grantees
Simprints is one of 30 innovative project leads from this year’s grantees, who are spread across 20 countries.
The latest round of DIV grants demonstrate the power of evidence and innovation in global development. They reflect DIV’s continued commitment to provide flexible, outcomes-focused funding to innovators and researchers to test promising ideas, build evidence of what works, and scale highly cost-effective solutions to critical development challenges, improving millions of lives across the world.
Using biometrics to help combat malaria
Receiving all four doses of the malaria vaccine protects children against illness, hospitalisation, and death, but in Ghana only 46% of children complete the four dose vaccination cycle. Simprints will implement a digital vaccination record system linked to biometrics that automatically identifies children who have defaulted from the vaccination schedule, and sends voice message reminders to caregivers.
Project overview
- The overall project objective is to ensure every child in Ghana receives all four doses of the malaria vaccine through a bundle of innovative technology solutions, made possible with the support of the American people.
- Alongside our research partners, we’ll conduct a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) to measure the impact of this innovation on the completion of malaria and other routine vaccination cycles, in addition to exploring the cost-effectiveness of the solution.
- The study will take place in the health facilities and surrounding catchment populations in the Oti region of Ghana. In Oti, 90% of health facilities still use paper forms to record client details and track service delivery.
- The research will be led by Professor Jessica Cohen and Dr Elisa Maffioli, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.
- Innovation for Poverty Action (IPA) Ghana will implement and oversee the data collection for the research.
- During the study period, Simprints and our research partners will track a cohort of over 4,000 babies to explore the improvements Simprints’ solution can make to the timely delivery of life-saving vaccines, including malaria.
Eje Esangbedo, Simprints’ Director of Partnerships, attended an inception meeting with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to launch the research. Eje told us:
“We’re thrilled to have received funding for Simprints’ first ever Randomised Control Trial and delighted that we are able to extend our partnership with the Ghana Health Service further. During our workshop, we discussed the optimum way to collect data, share findings, manage risks and ensure we are aligned with the learning priorities of the Ghana Health Service.”
Ensuring we generate rigorous evidence of the impact of our solution is a cornerstone of Simprints’ strategy. We’re excited to work with world-leading researchers towards this goal.
Learn more
- Delve into our evidence base in the Impact section
- Explore our Resources
