[Startup Watchlist] Made in India Innovations from the world of Healthcare

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The Startup Watchlist began with the intention of putting the spotlight on the upcoming startups and our reason as to why they deserve the place. 25 startups have been featured till date and we thought it prudent to experiment with a few theme based newsletters. Healthcare has always been a sector in need of innovation and there isn't much need to stress on the importance of it. Hence, we thought of bringing to you some bright Healthcare startups that are doing commendable work:

1)Windmill HealthWindmill Health was founded by Avijit Bansal and Ayesha Chaudhary, both of whom met during their Stanford India Biodesign Fellowship in 2011. They came together to buil NeoBreathe- a device that'll prevent child deaths.

The problem: Five out of every hundred babies born will not breathe at birth - a condition known as Birth Asphyxia. In fact, 904,000 babies (210,000 in India) die and an equal number are disabled for life every year.

Death and disability from asphyxia is preventable using a procedure called – basic resuscitation. Resuscitation requires skill and experience that is often missing at the point of childbirth. As a result, front-line health workers (auxiliary nurse midwives, nurses and medical officers) who attend majority of childbirths in India and other developing countries largely lack the skills required to resuscitate effectively – leading to deaths.

The solution: NeoBreathe is a novel integrated neonatal resuscitation solution that is much easier to use and suitable for field conditions. It will empower frontline workers such as medical professionals, community health workers, midwives and other skilled birth attendants to perform neonatal resuscitation effectively – with minimal training.

2) Aakar Innovation

Aakar Innovations is a social enterprise which believes that true women empowerment is only possible when we create equal opportunities. Aakar wants to empower and improve the living standard of underprivileged women by providing them with quality menstrual hygiene products at affordable prices.The Problem: More than 300 million women in India do not use sanitary napkins. Only 2-3% women in rural India use sanitary napkins. Menstruation is considered to be a shameful topic to even talk about and hence is neglected which leads to poor hygienic practices.

The solution: Aakar Innovations has developed Anandi pads which have several benefits. a) Cost is one of the main reasons poor women do not use sanitary pads (one pack of 8 Anandi pads sells for 20 rupees). b) Accessible- The Anandi pads are manufactured by women self-help groups c) is fully biodegradable.

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