In the Eastern Afghan city of Herat, the members of the prize-winning all-girls robotics team of Afghanistan used to say they were on a life-saving mission — building a ventilator out of used car parts and helping their war-stricken nation fight the virus.
The bunch of high school girls aged between 14 and 18 years is determined to bring a low-cost ventilator that can help the numerous people suffering from COVID-19 infections in their country.
Afgan’s prize-winning all-girls robotics team working on their low-cost ventilator model
“If we even save one life with our device, we will be proud,” said Farooqi, adjusting the suction cap as she sets the finishing touches before unveiling a low-cost, lightweight ventilator developed by her team.
Herat province in western Afghanistan is one of the hot spots in the nation due to its proximity to Iran, the epicenter of the outbreak in the area. This had motivated Farooqi and members of her team to help find a solution.
As the coronavirus pandemic struck the war-torn country, the all-female Afghan Robotics Team, which has received international awards for its robots, began work on an open-source, low-cost ventilator in March.
Their development of a low-cost breathing machine in conservative Afghanistan is especially notable. Only a decade ago, girls weren’t allowed to go to school under the Islamic extremist Taliban rule in the late 1990s.
Girls returned to schools after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 but achieving fair rights remains a challenge. Yet the team is relentless and is set to bring about an improvement.
It took the team nearly four months to finalize the ventilator, partially based on the design of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and they were also directed by Harvard University experts.
The system is simple to carry, can run for up to 10 hours with battery power, and it costs only $700 to make, compared to a conventional ventilator’s price of $20,000.
Ms. Faruqi expressed her delight in being able to take the first step in the field of medicine and be able to serve people who are suffering. “All members of our team feel happy because, after months of hard work, we were able to achieve this result,” she said.
“Afghans should be helping Afghanistan in this pandemic,” she said. “We should not wait for others.”
Though the ventilator is yet to receive final approval from the health authorities, it is much anticipated in a country whose health care system has been damaged by continuous war over the years.
The spokesperson of the Health Ministry, Akmal Samsor said they would be rolled out in Afghan hospitals once the ventilators were authorized and the prototype shared with the World Health Organisation.
He appreciated the initiative and creativity behind the effort and stressed the government’s determination to contract with companies for export once the approval is finalized.
Afghanistan is almost empty-handed in the face of the pandemic. It has a population of over 36.6 million with just 800 ventilators. It has recorded just over 35,500 cases of coronavirus, including 1,181 deaths so far, but the actual number is estimated to be much higher, as test kits are in short supply.
