Diabetes is a major global health problem, with more than 460 million people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes worldwide. In this perspective, the Harvard Health Systems Innovation Lab promotes, next weekend, between April 30th and May 1st, a hackathon focused on digital innovations to improve the treatment of type 1 diabetes in Africa. Among the participants is a group formed by researchers from the Laboratory for Technological Innovation in Health (LAIS/UFRN).

The Brazilian team will work in a hybrid way: four members are in the United States, participating in person, while there is another team participating directly from Natal. Composed by researchers Rodrigo Silva, Pablo Holanda, Maurício Capra, Sedir Morais (in the US), Rafael Pinto, Daniele Montenegro, Mellany Santana, Gleyson Caldeira, and Beatriz Soares (in Natal), the team will seek solutions to the challenge posed in the hackathon.

According to the organization, the goal of the event is to bring together individuals with diverse backgrounds and knowledge – clinical, academic, technology, etc. – to generate innovative solutions to specific problems in diabetes care in middle- and low-income countries. “We are collaborating with the Global Collaborative for Changing Diabetes in Children (CDIC), an initiative founded in 2009 that provides medicines and services for children with diabetes in many low- and middle-income countries around the world,” said Rifat Atun, professor of Global Health Systems at Harvard University and one of the organizers of the event, in a communication sent to participants.