Project Mentor: Professor Eric Obeysekare, Computer Science & Engineering
2027 Impact Fellows:
Project Description:
Step into any clinic or hospital in Sierra Leone and the first thing you see are sets of colorful posters used for maternal health guidance, vaccination schedules, disease prevention (malaria, cholera, Mpox alerts), medication instructions, and appointment/queue information. These posters are an essential resource, often shared from the national-level Ministry of Health, but have several limitations:
• Static: They cannot be updated when guidance changes or an outbreak emerges without physical reprinting and redistribution
• Costly to refresh at scale: Printing and distribution logistics slow down time-sensitive public health messaging
• Vulnerable to environmental wear: humidity, handling, and sun fade paper quickly in clinic settings
• One-size-fits-all: the same poster serves all patients regardless of the day's most relevant message or language needs
e-ink technology, perhaps best known from the Amazon Kindle, is a compelling technology that fits well with low-resource contexts: e-ink uses very little power, is highly readable in direct sunlight, and enables dynamic transfer of important information in healthcare settings and beyond. This new GSIF Sierra Leone team will prototype an e-ink based poster system and validate its potential in Makeni, Sierra Leone and surrounding areas. Students interested in global health, product development, graphic design, digital information systems, and anyone passionate about making a difference is encouraged to apply for this team.