The World Health Organization estimates that malaria parasite claimed 395,000 lives on the African continent in 2015; it is
especially deadly among children under five, the elderly and pregnant women.
It is against this background that some of Africa’s sharpest minds have researched and come out with life-saving solutions. Enter Moctar Dembélé of
Burkina Faso and Gérard Niyondiko of Burundi. The two former students
made history in 2013, when they became the first Africans but the first non-American team to win the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC).
Their brilliant idea? Faso Soap
– a malaria fighting soap they invented using shea butter, citronella
and other insect-repelling herbs sourced locally from Burkina Faso. The inventors say they chose soap as a way to protect a wide variety of
users because it is low cost and widely used by people of all
backgrounds.
The soap is designed to leave an insect-repelling scent on users skin
after bathing; dirty water containing the soap residue also drive
mosquitoes away from standing water, which is a popular breeding ground
for the bloodthirsty pests. Faso soap is now selling in Ghana.
Source: www.risingafrica.org/success-stories/health_medicine/two-burkinabe-students-invent-malaria-fighting-soap-as-answer-to-epidemic/
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