HOUSTON -- (March 30, 2020) -- Rice University bioengineer and global health pioneer Rebecca Richards-Kortum is available to discuss how hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa are preparing to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Most hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa lack the resources to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients," said Richards-Kortum, director of the Rice 360º Institute for Global Health. "Ventilators are especially rare. In many countries, there are fewer ventilators than hospitals. Personal protective equipment is also scarce, and sources of oxygen such as oxygen concentrators or oxygen cylinders are often in short supply due to lack of spare parts and trained maintenance personnel."
Richards-Kortum, Rice's Malcolm Gillis University Professor, creates and implements medical technologies for communities that can least afford them. She has worked with African doctors, hospitals and health care officials for more than a decade and was selected by the State Department in 2018 as a U.S. Science Envoy for Health Security with a focus on expanding opportunities for U.S. collaboration in Africa.
Richards-Kortum is also a co-founder of NEST360°, an international collaboration that's working to slash newborn deaths in sub-Saharan hospitals by 50%. Launched in London last fall with $68 million in philanthropic support, NEST360°'s first phase is focused on Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria. Phase two will target Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Uganda, with the goal of catalyzing continentwide change in newborn hospital care.
To schedule an interview with Richards-Kortum, contact Jeff Falk, director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.
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CAPTION: Rebecca Richards-Kortum (Photo courtesy of the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)
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