26 Jun 2016

Dr Valentin Agon from Benin is the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) 2016 grand prize winner of US$100 000 

 Dr Agon beat other 10 IPA 2016 nominees after developing an anti-Malaria drug treatment made from natural plant extract called Api-Palu.

All the 10 IPA 2016 10 nominees were each awarded certificates, while the other seven walked away with US$5 000 each.

The winner was announced at the 5^th annual Africa Innovation Foundation‘s (AIF) most prestigious awards-IPA 2016 awards and gala dinner in Gaborone on June 23.

In an interview after receiving his prize, Dr Agon said he found it necessary to come up with such an innovative idea because the Sub-Saharan Africa region was home to 88 per cent of Malaria cases.

The anti-Malaria drug treatment, he said was significantly cheaper than available anti-Malaria drugs and had great inhibitory effects on 3D7 strains of plasmodium falciparum- the causative agent of Malaria.

Api-Palu manifests as a fast rate of Malaria parasite clearance from the blood following short term treatment, with relatively lower doses.

Currently, the drug is available in tablets, capsules or syrup. Due to its therapeutic and non-toxic effects, it has been approved in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Central Africa Republic.

Dr Agon specialises in alternative medicine, having received a Doctorate for his research in the field. He has previously received several awards- both for his work on alternative medicine and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

The second prize winner of US$25 000 Dr Imogen Wright, from South Africa, was the only woman among the 10 IPA 2016 nominees.

Dr Wright is a scientist who holds a first-class Degree in Physics and Computer Science from Rhodes University, a Masters in Theoretical Physics from Canada’s Perimeter Institute and a PhD from the University of the Western Cape.

Her innovation was Exatype, which is a software solution that enables healthcare workers to determine HIV positive patients’ responsiveness to ARV drug treatment.

According to WHO, 71 per cent of people living with HIV reside in Africa. 

Until now, governments’ response had been to ensure access to treatment for all.

However, a growing number of people on ARVs are resistant to drug regimes, leading to failure of the therapy, exacerbating the continent’s HIV/AIDS crisis.

In an interview, Dr Wright said Exatype processes the highly complex data produced by advanced “next-generation” DNA sequencing of the HIV DNA in a patient’s blood.

Through a simple report, she said the software detected drugs that were resistant to the patient, thus highlighted the need to avoid such to ensure successful treatment.

The software, she said had the potential to contribute towards effectively managing HIV/AIDS in Africa, as it also held promise in helping detect drug resistance for other diseases burdens, such as TB and Malaria.

The third winner, Dr Eddy Agbo from Nigeria, got the special prize for social impact for developing a Urine Malaria Test (UMT).

Dr Agbo is a molecular bio-technologist and also chairmperson of Fyodor Bio-technologies- promoters of UMT. He has a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Utrecht University in Netherlands and a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

With Africa having the largest number of Malaria cases worldwide, Dr Agbo said the urine test for Malaria was a rapid non-blood diagnostic medical device that used a dip-stick with accurate results to diagnose Malaria in less than 25 minutes.

Such technology, he said detected Malaria parasite proteins in the patient’s urine with fever due to Malaria.

Again, he said UMT was a simple and affordable potential game changer in managing Malaria and saving lives across Africa.

Meanwhile, IPA 2016 head judge, Ms Amolo Ngweno, said the selection criteria was based on Africa’s new crop of ingenuity from 985 successful submissions spanning 46 African countries through a rigorous, transparent process of critique, validation, interview and consensus.

The 10 nominees, she said were selected amongst Africa’s best innovators whose innovative ideas would change lives across Africa.

Through the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology in collaboration with Botswana Innovation Hub, government submitted the bid to host IPA 2016 awards in an effort to build the national innovation ecosystem.

The bid, which was endorsed by President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama celebrated IPA’s five year milestone in helping to shape the innovation landscape in Africa.

The awards ceremony provides an unprecedented platform for African innovators and innovation enablers to network, share knowledge, explore business opportunities and boost collaboration.

To date, IPA has attracted more than 6000 innovators from 50 African countries in the last five years, making it a truly Pan-African initiative. Ends