Minimising birth-related risks in Malawi
Dossier

Dossier

Health

In order to contribute to the health of the population worldwide, KfW is involved in the fight against COVID-19, AIDS, Ebola, cancer, multi-resistant germs and for the development of innovative therapies. On the occasion of World Health Day and the 75th anniversary of the WHO on 7 April, we present successful projects at home and abroad in our dossier.

Image-Reference

On our website, pictures taken, among others, by the following photographers/photo agencies are used:

Agentur photothek.net, Deutsche Messe Hannover, Andreas Arnold, Jörg Böthling, Dominik Butzmann, Carsten Costard, Susanne Esche, Charlie Fawell, Rendel Freude, Torsten George, Gaby Gerster, David Greedy, Peter Himsel, Barbara Högner, Frank Homann, Fred Hoogervorst, Steffen Jagenburg (BRANSCH EUROPE), Thomas Klewar, Studio Kohlmeier , Florian Kopp, Georg Lopata, Jürgen Lösel, Kirsten Milhahn, Rüdiger Nehmzow, Rolf Obertreis, Rubén Arnaldo Farina Ortiz, Holger Peters, Joachim Röttgers, Mika Schmidt, Bernhard Schurian, Jens Steingässer, Pietro Sutera, Uwe Tölle, Jan Zappner.

Fotolia.com: amandare, Yuri Arcurs, Kitch Bain, Ingo Bartussek, Sergio Donà, drizzd, Dmitry Ersler, eyewave, Zoltán Futó, Eric Gevaert, Fotolia XXV, Friedberg, goodluz, Dirk Hoffmann, imageteam, Christian Jung, Abdelhamid Kalai, Sergej Khakimullin, Vladimir Kolobov, krizz7, Kzenon, lumen-digital, marog-pixcells, Mindwalker, Miredi, mirpic, Nebuto, Tino Neitz, Christian Pedant, Franz Pfluegl, prognone, Gina Sanders, Henry Schmitt, spree berlin, SVLuma, Kheng Guan Toh, tom, Torbz, typomaniac, VRD, Joachim Wendler, Sreedhar Yedlapati.

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A woman holds an ampoule of Hepcludex, powder for injection preparation in her hand

The billion-euro drug

MYR is a particularly special German success story In just under ten years, the biotech company from Bad Homburg has gone from zero to 1 billion euros with just one drug. How is that possible?

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Marcel Walz (left) und Tobias Gebhard, Benjamin Heinzerling (right)

The billion-euro drug

Up to 700,000 patients become infected with germs during a hospital stay every year. To check whether hospital employees disinfect their hands often and thoroughly enough, GWA Hygiene relies on artificial intelligence.

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Centogene lab

The fight against the coronavirus

Responsibility in times of crisis: the Rostock-based company Centogene that otherwise tracks rare diseases is opening its laboratories for life-saving coronavirus tests. Up to 10,000 swabs can be analysed per day.

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To the article about mobile labs in Africa
mobile laboratories in africa

Mobile laboratories in Africa

The German Federal Government, KfW and the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine have joined forces to detect impending epidemics in East Africa at an early stage. To this end a regional network of mobile laboratories is being set up for Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Southern Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. And now, in the corona crisis, the technology is much-needed.

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nurse

Protection against hospital germs

Patients become infected with pathogens as many as 700,000 times a year during a stay in hospital. In order to optimise hand hygiene in hospitals, the start-up GWA Hygiene relies on artificial intelligence.

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Screen of the Magnosco apparatus

Using light to faster detect skin cancer

When moles change shape or colour, dermatologists often take tissue samples to rule out the possibility of skin cancer. But is it always necessary? Magnosco GmbH has developed a device that uses a combination of laser light and artificial intelligence to make diagnosis easier.

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hospital after renovation

DEG finances the fight against Covid-19 in eastern India

India is one of the world’s countries hardest hit by the pandemic: case numbers and deaths have recently been at very high levels, and the healthcare system is severely overstretched. Problems such as bed shortages, lack of liquid medical oxygen or transport difficulties massively complicate the fight against the pandemic.

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Ball from Ichó

A ball to evoke memories

It is common to feel helpless when dealing with dementia patients. A start-up in Duisburg has a promising idea: a ball filled with electronics that gives people a piece of their life back.

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Rigontec laboratory

Venture capital for cancer research

Rigontec is launching its first clinical study to test a new active substance to fight cancer. The unique thing about this drug is that it programs the body's immune system to identify tumour cells as harmful and then kill them.

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A condom is shown during a hiv prevention seminar for priests and other listeners

”We have reached a crossroads“

The reports on HIV and AIDS often appear to contradict one another. Our expert Dr Kai Gesing explains the current danger posed by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and how to interpret the numbers on our interactive world map.

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Proton radiation in Essen

The power of particles

Cancer is becoming forever prevalent in our ageing society. But children develop cancer too. In Essen patients can receive targeted treatment with beams of protons. A visit to the West German Proton Therapy Center.

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To the video
Activate! staff and participants

Hope at the Cape

More than seven million people in South Africa are infected with HIV. Young people in particular are affected by the epidemic. This is why they are the focus of Activate!, a programme supported by KfW. We present the project to you in our video.

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Baby receives polio vaccination

The battle against polio

Nigeria is one of the last-remaining high-risk countries. Supported by KfW and the Japanease development agency JICA, WHO and UNICEF are currently running a campaign in the country with the aim of providing polio vaccinations to all children under the age of five. However, the terrorist group Boko Haram is posing a threat to doctors.

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Labor from Atriva in Muenster

Double impact

Atriva Therapeutics has been working to develop flu treatment for several years. Now the company is working on a medicine to help people suffering from COVID-19.

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To the article about child marriages in Niger
Young mothers carrying babies on their backs

Forced into marriage as a young girl

Niger has the world's highest number of child marriages. A total of 28 per cent of all girls are married before the age of 15. They have to stop going to school and miss out on their chance of an education. In many cases, they fall pregnant while they are still children themselves, increasing risks during birth.

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Woman cooking on biogas stove

Smoke-free cooking

Cooking over an open fire is dangerous. Every year, millions of people are killed by toxic smoke. Biogas stoves help to protect the health of mainly women and children. A report from Bangladesh and Nepal.

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Minimising birth-related risks in Malawi

Minimising birth-related risks

Our interactive world map shows that mortality rates among mothers are very high in Malawi. That is why KfW is supporting an initiative to make sure women are transferred to health stations in time to give birth.

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