Deadline: July 2, 2024
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is hosting a Wazoku Crowd Challenge to find existing technologies and solutions or innovative designs and concepts to increase compliance with hand hygiene and overcome supply chain issues in healthcare environments.
The World Health Organization’s 5 moments for hand hygiene keep patients safe by reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). However, in healthcare settings the world over, adherence to the 5 moments for hand hygiene is not perfectly observed – and solely behavioral approaches have not proved effective. Staff move from patient to patient, running water often cannot be accessed easily or at all, and sanitizer/gloves are resources that must be replenished or replaced.
Your novel technological designs or already-available solutions will help the IRC and other worldwide actors to improve hand hygiene compliance, reduce HAIs, and improve patient outcomes. In this Challenge, there are particular cost constraints: already-existing solutions should cost no more than 25 USD per healthcare worker per year, and novel technologies, solutions, or designs have a cost constraint of 66 USD per healthcare worker per year.
There is a total award pool of $30,000, with Solvers being able to win with their solutions for improving hand hygiene effectiveness, compliance, and adherence in each of these two categories:
- Novel designs and innovative solutions – $15,000 pool
- or Existing technologies and solutions – $15,000 pool
This Prize Challenge requires a written proposal to be submitted. Awards will be contingent upon the theoretical evaluation of the proposal by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and evaluators.
To receive an Award for this Prize Challenge, Solvers are required to transfer non-exclusive rights to the Intellectual Property (IP) in their proposed solution. Solvers will retain all rights to any proposal not Awarded.
