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Health technologies

Health technologies help us deliver safe, timely and effective care for children and mothers.

A boy has his temperature screened with a UNICEF-provided infrared thermometer before entering the school, to prevent ebola transmission in Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur Province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, May 2018.

UNICEF/UN0216104/Shadid

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The challenge

The healthcare needs of children and mothers around the world are wide in range and demanding in terms of solutions. To prevent, diagnose and treat diseases that threaten children’s lives, health technologies must solve problems such as:

Providing accurate, rapid diagnoses of health threats like malaria and HIV that enable timely, appropriate treatment that can save lives.
Providing protection for children and their families against mosquito-borne diseases.
Keeping vaccines at the right temperatures to maintain their potency as they travel thousands of kilometres from manufacturers to children.
Safely administering vaccines to children without injuries or infections.

The solution

UNICEF collaborates with partners and industry to supply health technologies that work for children.

These are the primary focus areas where UNICEF procures supplies and influences product innovations:

Diagnostics and prevention

Laboratory technician Lydia Nyatte uses Early Infant Diagnosis machine to test blood samples for HIV at the Ebolowa Regional Hospital, Cameroon, in July 2018.

Diagnostic tests for malaria, HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and more, as well as clinical laboratory supplies and long-lasting insecticidal nets (bed nets).
Explainer: Why UNICEF’s new Cervical Cancer Toolkit matters for women’s health

Medical devices

Nurses rush to stabilise a baby born via caesarean at the Bafata hospital, Guinea Bissau, Thursday,17 January 2020.

Safe injection devices, waste management systems, hospital and medical equipment, disability and assistive technologies, and emergency health kits.
Explainer: Fourteen fast facts about syringes for childhood vaccines

Cold chain equipment

A healthcare stores vaccines in a refrigerator at New Damietta Primary Health Centre in Damietta Governorate, Egypt.

Solar and mains-powered refrigerators and freezers, vaccine carriers and cold packs, temperature monitoring tools and walk-in cold rooms to store, manage and transport vaccines.
Explore: What is a cold chain?

These health solutions are critical in preventing, detecting and accurately diagnosing health threats that take millions of lives every year. They also enable health workers to safely deliver quality care in a timely manner for children and mothers.