WARMILU AND VIA GLOBAL HEALTH PARTNER TO SAVE MORE INFANT LIVES
(AUGUST 14, 2020) ANN ARBOR, MI - PRESS RELEASE
Breaking News: Warmilu & VIA Global Health partnership brings life-saving warmth to babies born in over 60 countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
ANN ARBOR, MI, UNITED STATES and JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA August 12, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ —
Last year, all the incubators at the National Institute of Child Health in Karachi, Pakistan were occupied when Joey*, a preterm baby, was transferred for treatment. The long trip left him cold and in dire need of warmth.
In the five minutes it takes to read this article, 10 infants will have died from hypothermia worldwide. Hypothermia is common in under-resourced countries, where over 1 million infant deaths are caused by preterm birth complications and associated hypothermia. Self-warming blankets from Warmilu can save these babies.
“The Warmilu IncuBlanket probably saved Joey’s life,” affirmed Ibrahim Shamsi, on-site manager for The Zona Pakistan Project. Infants thermostabilized by Warmilu blankets are more likely to survive, and now they will reach more babies in need. A new agreement between Warmilu and VIA Global Health promises to bring life-saving warmth to hundreds of thousands of babies like Joey worldwide. The global distribution partnership will promote Warmilu’s medical products on VIA Global Health’s world-class e-commerce procurement platform.
Now, Warmilu can warm infants in 60 new countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This expands beyond Warmilu’s previous reach of 8,500 infants served by 35 hospitals in 15 countries.
Noah Perrin, CEO of VIA Global Health, described how the company’s unmatched capability in distribution and logistics to underserved communities aligns with Warmilu’s proprietary, electricity-free warming technology.
“We are excited to be working with Warmilu and broadening the impact of their innovative technology. This partnership will deliver infant warming blankets and packs to our customers who need affordable and cost-effective solutions in under-resourced communities,” he said.
VIA Global Health’s sales and distribution network was recognized and recently received funding support by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. To date, VIA has positively impacted over 1.5 million patient lives. Warmilu’s partnerships with P&G, Doctors Without Borders, and Rotary Club over the past seven years have enabled the company to scale production.
“This distribution arrangement with VIA allows us to tackle our most critical issue: access. Eighty-five percent of children in resource-poor hospitals around the world have hypothermia. VIA helps us access children in four times as many countries,” said Fred Brown, Warmilu board member since 2012.
Warmilu is a company to watch as an infant warming innovator, according to Frost and Sullivan’s 2019 Neonatal Care Device Market Report.
“The materials used to make these [Warmilu] devices remain at a steady temperature and do not require electricity to work, making it ideal for remote settings or in displaced communities. This is a potential game-changing strategy,” said the report’s authors.
Mulago Hospital in Uganda reports success warming 100 infants this year with Warmilu incubator blankets. Clinicians had previously reported frequent infant hypothermia. Mulago Hospital is the largest public hospital and serves as a teaching facility for Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Uganda’s oldest university.
Dr. Anita Muhumuza at Mulago Hospital was able to safely transport Peter*, a 600-gram baby, from point of delivery to the NICU. “The baby’s internal temperature was maintained with Warmilu’s blanket. On arrival at the NICU, Peter had a [normal] temperature of 37 degrees centigrade,” she said.
To save more infants, Warmilu is seeking additional partners like Mulago Hospital, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, and VIA Global Health.
“VIA Global Health has the reputation and reach we seek to expand both of our organizations’ impact. Together, we can spread warmth and save more lives through hundreds of additional verified medical device distributors,” said Grace Hsia, co-founder and CEO of Warmilu. Babies like Joey and Peter will have a better chance of survival with the VIA and Warmilu partnership.
*All baby names have been changed for anonymity and to protect patient privacy.
Photo credit to Grace Aloko (Sunyani Municipal Hospital, Ghana).
Photo credit to Ibrahim Shamsi (National Institute of Child Health, Pakistan).
Warmilu blankets and packs keep infants warm around the globe. Photo credits to Dr. Leah Hodor (St. Francis Nsambya Hospital, Uganda).
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To read more, check out the press release: https://www.einpresswire.com/article/523519415/warmilu-and-via-global-health-partner-to-save-more-infant-lives
About VIA Global Health
VIA Global Health was founded to deliver universal access to critical medical products, information, and services. Since 2017, we have delivered lifesaving medical equipment to underserved communities in over 60 different countries and have developed a growing network of customers representing or serving public, private, and non-government and faith-based organizations.
Through our procurement platform and supporting services, we improve information, accessibility, and affordability in local distribution channels – enabling quality healthcare and have positively impacted the lives of over a million and a half people through the availability of critical medical technologies.
To view Warmilu’s products on VIA Global Health, please use this link: https://viaglobalhealth.com/?s=warmilu.
About Warmilu
Warmilu is a global developer and manufacturer of non-electric warming technology for medical heating and temperature control applications. Our mission: spread the warmth, save lives. Their technology generates warmth that lasts for hours at the press of a disk. Warmilu has applied this technology to create warming devices for multiple needs, including portable infant incubators for resource-scarce settings, stadium seating, and pain management. Warmilu warms infants with partners including Rotary Club, Doctors Without Borders, VIA Global Health, P&G, Hillman Accelerator, University of Michigan, NEST360°, Fleece and Thank You, and others. We have been featured in the Frost and Sullivan 2019 Neonatal Care Device Market Report as a thermoregulation company to watch out for! Learn more at https://warmilu.com/ and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok @Warmilu. NEST360° is made possible by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The ELMA Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, The Lemelson Foundation, the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation and individual donors to Rice 360°.
