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Simprints co-founder nets prestigious Impact Prize

Biometric-identity nonprofit updates on community vaccine programs
Simprints co-founder nets prestigious Impact Prize
 

A senior member of Simprints has been recognized with a prestigious prize.

Alexandra Grigore, Simprints’ chief strategy officer, is the winner of the Gates Cambridge Impact Prize. The UK-based nonprofit builds and deploys biometric identification technology to increase transparency and effectiveness in global development, and one of its founders has been recognized for her impact.

“Alexandra’s outstanding contributions and remarkable achievements truly embody the spirit of the Gates Cambridge community, and we are thrilled to recognise her impactful work,” members of the judging panel said. “Alexandra’s work stood out in a very competitive pool, and we are proud to acknowledge the positive change she is driving.”

Grigore is a co-founder of Simprints, along with two fellow Gates Cambridge Scholars, Toby Norman and Dan Storisteanu, and Toby’s brother Tristram. “I am so proud of what we have achieved at Simprints,” Grigore said.

“While many biometric tools exist on the market, few serve the world’s most vulnerable populations,” she continued. “Simprints tools have empowered NGOs and governments to provide essential services to millions of people worldwide.”

Grigore, in her previous role as chief product officer, led a team of engineers developing machine learning-based biometric recognition models trained for under-represented demographics, especially in low and middle-income countries.

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is Cambridge University’s premier scholarship programme for international postgraduate students and celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The Impact Prize recognizes eight scholars with an award for their achievements and the impact they might’ve had across the world.

Simprints biometrics speeds up community-based delivery of vaccines

In Uganda Simprints’ ethical mobile face biometrics technology was integrated into the Mobiklinic digital health tool to deliver and trace Covid-19 vaccines in the Buikwe district.

Writing in a blog post, Mobiklinic CEO Andrew Ddembe reflected on the collaboration. The results led to substantial gains. For example, Ddembe reports a 161 percent year-to-year increase in Covid-19 vaccine delivery.

In addition, Simprints’ biometrics reduced the enrolment and identification time of beneficiaries by 80 and 63 percent, respectively, boosting the efficiency of community health workers.

“Simprints’ biometrics technology demonstrated outstanding ease of use, adoptability, interoperability, and reliability in a setting with low internet bandwidth,” Ddembe writes.

The CEO recognized the advantages of mobile and ethical biometrics when needing to serve displaced people, due to disasters and conflicts, and the needs of those experiencing the most economic hardship.

Mobiklinic has collaborated with Simprints over the latter’s first ten years in operation.

Biometric verification of malaria vaccine delivery study published

Simprints and the School of Public Health at the University of Ghana have published a new baseline study of biometrically verifying malaria vaccine delivery in Ghana’s Eastern and Oti regions.

Key findings of the study found that only 18.7 percent of children received all required doses for all antigens, and that 78 percent of children received all vaccine doses within their first year.

In addition, nearly all (98 percent) of health workers surveyed were familiar with biometrics and that more than half (58 percent) believed biometric devices have practical applications in healthcare.

“This baseline study highlights the opportunities for biometric technology to improve immunisation services and ensures we have robust evidence to measure our impact,” Natia Ubilava, Simprints’ senior monitoring, evaluation and learning manager said. “It sets the stage for data-driven decision-making as we work together with our partners to strengthen healthcare delivery systems in Ghana.”

The study establishes a “critical baseline” for a project that aims to improve routine immunization rates in Ghana. Those interested can download a copy of the report here.

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