World Health Organisation organizes hackathon and offers seed funding to fight COVID-19
- The World Health Organisation has set aside funds for a virtual hackathon aimed at combating the coronavirus
- The package would be given to those who offer viable digital solutions to help eradicate the epidemic from the world
- Participants in the programme who were selected for the hackathon were placed into groups to develop solutions
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has organized virtual hackathons in Africa and has offered up to $20,000 in seed funds to help combat coronavirus.
The prize package is set aside for finalists who offer digital solutions to the epidemic which has affected people all over the world.
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YEN.com.gh understands that plans are in place for another session with the French-speaking countries in Africa.
The participants, per a report by TechCrunch, were selected via an online application process that split them into teams.
They were then tasked to develop scalable concepts in line with WHO’s current COVID-19 response strategy.
The strategy includes provisions for infection prevention and control, case management, surveillance and continuity of health services.
Information available shows that the winning hackathon group was led by Laud Basing, a Ghanaian entrepreneur.
The group developed a screening tool concept that maps COVID-19 test cases, classify them according to risk and provides data to national authorities to determine an appropriate response.
Meanwhile, the WHO has partnered with Facebook, Microsoft and other technology companies to organize a hackathon aimed at promoting the development of software that can combat the coronavirus.
Other technology companies participating in the programme are Twitter, WeChat, TikTok, Pinterest, Slack and Giphy.
Codenamed the #BuildforCOVID19 hackathon, the event was announced on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, and would be accepting project submissions from Thursday, March 26 to Monday, March 30, 2020.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
