13 Inventions and Innovations Creating a Better Future for Women - List Show (Ep. 238)

Hi, I'm Emily Grassley and this is Mental Floss on YouTube

And did you know that in 2010, a 19-year-old named Evans Wodongo invented a solar-powered lamp made out of 50% recycled materials

Evans had vision and health issues from reading and studying by firelight and kerosene lamps as a kid

To make sure that others didn't suffer the same problems, Evans traveled across Kenya, providing villagers with his free lamps

His hope is to reduce the health issues that result from trying to work and study by firelight, problems that disproportionately affect women

Today we're teaming up with the Gates Foundation to tell you about some innovations that are going to make the world infinitely better for women

Because a world better for women is better for everyone. Let's get started

It isn't just the lighting that causes problems. Women in developing countries have been experiencing respiratory problems caused by wood-burning stoves and poorly ventilated kitchens

But the Infinity Oven hopes to change that. This solar-powered cooking device actually eliminates the need for fire

In fact, it bakes without smoke or fuel and is much cheaper than the other solar-powered alternatives

The device is currently being tested in a bakery in Burundi. A sad reality is recognizing 45% of Rwandan children under the age of 5 experience malnutrition

But there's hope in people like Julie Carney. She works with Gardens for Health International, an organization that collaborates with Rwandan villages

to provide mothers with a 14-week nutrition education program. While gardening may seem like a small way to create change, the impact is actually drastic

Carney realized that when mothers are empowered to grow and choose the foods they want to feed their children, malnutrition declines

GHI also helps villagers recognize malnutrition sooner, and the organization's goal is to create self-sufficient communities

After three years, the group leaves areas to grow and thrive on their own. As of 2011 only 12 of women in India use sanitary pads partly because they so expensive and partly because of a lingering stigma in Indian society As the BBC reported one of the terrible side effects is that 70 of the nation reproductive

diseases are caused by poor menstrual health. But one man is on a mission to change that

Arunatulam Muru Ganantam spent over four years creating an inexpensive machine that allows

women to discreetly make their own sanitary pads. There are currently 1300 machines in use in India, but he would like to start sending his invention to other countries battling similar issues including Kenya, Nigeria, and Bangladesh

And for those of you at home who can't relate to this problem, imagine being stuck in the uncomfortable and awkward early stages of puberty forever

That's what it's like to have a period and no resources. In 2006, Argentine car mechanic Jorge Odan watched a lifehack video for taking a cork out of a wine bottle

Later that night, he couldn't stop thinking about it. As a father of five, all of his children were delivered by C-section

he wondered if the suction trick could have other applications. His invention? The Odon device made out of a plastic bag

which can save the lives of babies who are stuck in the birth c during childbirth

as well as mothers who can often die in complicated deliveries. This inexpensive solution could help tremendously in the developing world

where people have typically used less successful contraptions, like suction cups and even large pliers

After all, it's a vagina, not a clogged toilet. 40% of South African children under the age of 5 die from problems associated with AIDS

a number that could be significantly lessened if HIV-positive mothers take the right medication on the right schedule

To address the problem, three professors from South Africa invented Cell Life

a solution that will send mothers text messages with a schedule and reminders to guide them through a 10-week mother-to-child prevention program

Another cell phone-related innovation helping women is the app HOLLABACK. The organization was started by Emily May when she was 24 years old

In 2010 May raised on Kickstarter to create the app which allows people to contribute to and access maps where recent street harassment has occurred so folks can get a heads up on dicey areas

In New York City, the app even allows you to report the incidents to the mayor's office

to further spotlight the issue. Which is awesome, because Bill de Blasio deserves to know when someone thinks I'm a sexy lady

walking home with a six pack of toilet paper in a family-sized tub of Nutella

When Anne Githekou-Shanghui saw her teenagers playing civilization building games on their phones

she became inspired to start Afro's Games, a company that produces mobile apps and games to inspire African youth

In 2011, she teamed up with the UN to create Maroba, which takes a popular South African strategy game

and adapts it to educate youth on issues of sexual violence and gender equality

The addictive game teaches them more about the issues and is shaping the way a new generation thinks about women's rights

Ever since her stint in the Peace Corps, Amy Smith has obsessed over how to help people across the world with low-tech inventions and innovations

In fact, she founded MIT's D-Lab with that specific mission in mind

and she's invented a number of low-cost machines along the way. This includes an incubator for babies that needs no electricity

an easy-build corn sheller that reduces back-breaking work, and a sustainable hammer mill for village flower production

Her latest projects involve collaborating on clean birth and healthy newborn kits

According to the New York Times, 800 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth

including unclean conditions at birth. Smith's mission is to use her kits to reduce that number drastically

The tools and materials inside include a plastic drop sheet, hand wipes

a sharp tool for quick and clean snipping of the umbilical cord, and much more

The kits are built to be culturally appropriate for use around the world, including regions where women stand during childbirth

And the best part? All of these lives can be affected for less than $2 a kit

The Hippo water roller, invented by Grant Gibbs from South Africa, is a 90 liter plastic barrel that can be rolled to a water source then rolled back home once it filled The invention reduces strain on the skeletal frame caused by burying heavy loads of water and also saves precious hours each day when women and children usually make the long tedious trips to the water source

Now they have more time for education and economic activities. The Hippo water roller is currently being used in many countries, including Mozambique

Somalia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. I think we can all agree that mosquitoes aren't winning any popularity contests

The fact that they leave you all itchy is bad enough, the transmission of malaria puts

them in another category altogether. Malaria kills millions of people each year, and it's particularly dangerous for pregnant

women and children. Luckily, Rice University's Rebecca Richards-Kordham has come up with an incredible invention to

help counter the disease, a bloodless malaria test. Her device clips onto a finger, peeks through the skin at the blood below, and gives you

an instant diagnosis. The rapid detection will lead to faster treatment in remote areas, and save the lives of men

women, and children in the process. Finally, I return to my salon to tell you that intrauterine devices, also known as IUDs

are considered one of the safest and most effective forms of birth control

There are currently a multitude of organizations that are working on making them readily available in developing countries

by lowering costs and simplifying the procedure. Jopigo, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, invented a no-touch technique for inserting an IUD

which allows it to be inserted without anyone contaminating the device during the process

On that note, the organization Bioceptive has created a device that automates much of

the process so that you don't have to be an expert to insert an IUD

And Marie Stopes International has provided many IUDs for women in sub-Saharan Africa

even popularizing the device in that region. Thanks for watching this episode of Mental Floss on YouTube, which is made with all the

help of these nice people and brought to you by our friends at the Gates Foundation. I'm Emily Grassley and you can check out my work at The Brain Scoop