Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards were unveiled this week, and the nonprofit Action Against Hunger was honored for its potentially lifesaving new app that is equipping health workers and parents with a faster, more effective way to detect childhood malnutrition.
With just a quick photo, the app compares the shape of a healthy child to the child being screened, preventing human error and providing a more accurate and detailed view of a child’s nutrition status. It eliminates the need for health workers to lug cumbersome bucket scales and heavy height boards from one community to another, cross-referencing weight, height and upper-arm circumference with complex data tables, a time-consuming and error-prone process.
Dubbed SAM Photo App, it was designed to meet the urgent need to detect severe acute malnutrition (SAM), which contributes to more than 5,000 daily child deaths from hunger-related causes. Nearly 75% of children never receive the help they need, and delayed diagnosis of malnutrition is a significant barrier.
Designed for poor, rural areas with no internet connection, low literacy levels, and the most basic Android phones, this new tool holds the promise of screening more children more quickly. The goal is to reach more hungry children more quickly, opening the door to affordable, lifesaving malnutrition treatments, which have been proven 90% effective.
“Our long-term vision is for every parent to be able to check their child’s nutritional status at home just as easily as parents in wealthier countries can check a child’s temperature,” said Laura Medialdea Marcos, Principal Investigator of SAM Photo App® Project, Research Expert, Technical Department, Action Against Hunger. “This tool also could be invaluable to community health workers in countries that have less structured or less well-resourced health systems. Ultimately, it could change the paradigm of the way the world screens and diagnoses malnutrition.”
The World Changing Ideas Awards honor sustainable designs, innovative products, bold social initiatives, and other creative projects that are changing the way we work, live, and interact with the world. This year, issues of food and agriculture garnered attention, from SAM Photo App to a palm oil alternative to an animal-free egg white.
“We are honored that our work is being recognized by Fast Company alongside so many impressive initiatives to address the most pressing issues of our time—like the fact that millions of people go to bed hungry every night,” said Dr. Charles E. Owubah, CEO of Action Against Hunger. “Action Against Hunger’s singular purpose is to end hunger in our lifetimes. Awareness of the issue and innovations like SAM Photo App are key to advancing that goal.”
A panel of Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 2,200 entries across urban design, education, nature, politics, technology, corporate social responsibility, and more. The seventh annual awards also feature entries from across the globe, from Italy to Singapore to New Zealand, recognizing creative solutions to some of the world’s biggest issues. The winners will be featured in Fast Company’s Spring 2023 issue, on newsstands May 9, 2023.
“It’s thrilling to see the creativity and innovation that are so abundant among this year’s honorees,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. “While it’s easy to feel discouraged by the state of the world, the entrepreneurs, companies, and nonprofits featured in this package show the limitless potential to address society’s most urgent problems. Our journalists have highlighted some of the most exciting and impactful work being done today—from housing to equity to sustainability—and we look forward to seeing not only how these projects evolve but how they inspire others to develop solutions of their own.”
Action Against Hunger has run large-scale pilots of SAM Photo App in Senegal, where more than 90 clinics are using the new solution, and is actively working to expand the program to other countries, with an initial focus on high-need areas in South Asia and Central America.
SAM Photo App is a finalist in the Developing World Technology category, and previously earned Gold in the 2023 Anthem Awards.
Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 21 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 56 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.
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