{
  "id": 19977346,
  "title": "Young African innovators develop digital tools to track blood supplies,predict shortages",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/young-african-innovators-develop-digital-tools-to-track-blood",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-14T11:50:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Capital FM Kenya",
    "slug": "capital-fm-kenya",
    "url": "https://capitalfm.africa/young-african-innovators-develop-digital-tools-to-track-blood-suppliespredict-shortages/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Five teams of young African innovators have created digital tools to track blood supplies, predict shortages, and coordinate blood transfers at the Terumo BCT Africa Hackathon 2026 held at Strathmore University in Nairobi on November 13. The innovations aim to address the lack of real-time blood availability information and fragmented hospital and blood bank systems that often hinder hospitals from quickly locating available blood, especially during urgent transfusions. Team Relay, comprising Kenyan and Nigerian innovators, won the competition with their solution, HemoGrid, a platform designed to help hospitals identify available blood stocks and coordinate transfers between facilities. Medibora, a Kenyan team, took second place with their forecasting system, Providus, which analyzes blood supply and demand to predict potential shortages. The other finalists, Kenya's UnitTrace, Rwanda and Nigeria's Damu Signal, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe's TrustLedger, each focused on addressing specific weaknesses in the blood management chain, including improving record accuracy, projecting blood requirements, and monitoring storage and transport conditions. Despite their differing approaches, all five innovations share the common goal of using digital technology to enhance visibility, coordination, and accountability across the African blood supply chain while maintaining the role of healthcare professionals in critical decisions. The hackathon, organized by Talo Africa, aimed to encourage young developers to create technologies tailored to African healthcare systems, particularly those with limited infrastructure and internet connectivity.",
  "summary": "Young innovators from five African countries have developed digital tools to help hospitals track blood supplies, predict shortages and coordinate transfers between facilities.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}