By David Muchui

Reporter, Nation Media Group

A mobile app is being used for the first time in Meru to identify patients with neglected surgical diseases (NSDs).

The aim is to reach more than 7,000 children with cleft lip and palate in the country.

Community health workers in the county have been equipped with smart phones installed with The Finders Keepers app. Through the app, those suffering from NSDs such as clefts, cataracts, clubfoot, fistula, hernia and trauma, are identified and referred for surgery.

Cleft lip and palate, a common congenital (present from birth) malformation affecting one in every 700 newborns, has been given priority. Every year, 17 million people die due to preventable, NSDs.

Last year, the county conducted a door-to-door mapping and registration of patients with NSDs. The app provides a patient’s biodata and location. “The community health volunteer takes the patient’s photo, a close-up picture of the condition, the location and other details before uploading it. The data is reviewed by a doctor, who advises on care and treatment. This is the first time the app is being used in the world,” said Patrick Mwai, a director of International Collaboration for Essential Surgery, the developers of the app.