ITU contract

LAHORE
The Innovations for Poverty Alleviation Lab (IPAL) at Information Technology University (ITU) was awarded a grant worth £250,000 by Sub-National Governance Programme (SNG).
According to a press release, the contract for the grant was signed by ITU Vice-Chancellor Dr Umar Saif and Hamid Yaqoob from SNG. The event was attended by officials from SNG, the Chief Minister Health Road Map Team and the Health Secretary.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr Umar said, “Har Zindagi - Every Life Matters” was awarded the grant out of 247 other applicants. The project aims at increasing uptake, retention and quality of immunisation by using a redesigned immunisation card for parents and a smart phone application for vaccinators that stores real-time immunisation records onto a centralised database. He said that centralised records would be available on a dashboard for policymakers. Furthermore, the project would incorporate SMS-based reminders and robo-call based information delivery for mothers. The vaccination coverage would be increased by identifying clusters of households not currently covered by vaccinators through satellite imagery. The project would be piloted in the districts of Sahiwal and Sheikhupura and would aim to increase coverage of vaccinations, improve retention rate and quality of vaccine administration, Dr Umar added.
The project is designed by ITU’s IPAL, an applied research lab that incorporates user-centred design and co-creation principles to create technologies that help in improving the lives of the poor. Other projects in IPAL include remote water quality testing for water filtration plants and redesigning the user-interface for ATM for the convenience of users with low literacy skills.