Hb is a Social Technology dedicated to diagnosing and overcoming iron deficiency anemia in schools.

Current Status

Hb's current focus is on developing a new rapid and low-cost testing platform, both to measure hemoglobin and ferritin levels, using a drop of blood from a fingertip. This research and development work is being conducted in partnership with the São Carlos Chemistry Institute and the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, in the Department of Computational Modeling. At the same time, we are conducting a new Hb campaign among schools of Santa Luzia do Itanhy, using the Hemocue equipment, which also serves as a validation field for the new test platform.

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Historic

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), iron deficiency anemia is the largest nutritional disease in the world, affecting around 25% of the population, especially children, whose motor and mental performance is strongly impacted by this condition. Hb's proposal is to measure the weight, height and hemoglobin level data of all students in schools and treat all students with iron deficiency anemia.

Diagnosed cases are referred for a consultation with a doctor from the Family Health Program and receive medication for effective treatment (worm medicine and ferrous sulfate), as well as copies of the two episodes of the magazine Guerra nas Arterias, in this case “Invisible Sabotage”, which focuses on the importance of healthy eating and adherence to treatment, and “Worms Attack”, which focuses on preventing contamination by soil parasites, highlighting that bad eating and worms are the main causes of iron deficiency anemia. In the experiment carried out in Santa Luzia do Itanhy, we identified an average of 32% of students with iron deficiency anemia, a rate that was reduced to 6.8% after 12 weeks of treatment. In 2013, Hb won the Fundação Banco do Brasil Social Technologies Award. In 2015, Hb was reapplied in Boquim, Sergipe, where we found an average prevalence of 25% of students with iron deficiency anemia, a rate that was reduced to 4.8% after the campaign, and in 2017 we reapplied in Axinim, Borba, Amazonas, where we found an average prevalence of 59% of students with iron deficiency anemia, a rate that was reduced to 3.9% after the campaign. Since 2022, in a partnership with the São Carlos Chemistry Institute (IQSC/USP) and the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), we have been developing a new rapid testing platform based on the μPAD (microfluidic paper-based analytics devices) methodology, with low production cost and ease of use and disposal.