High school girls from Afghanistan create a cheaper ventilator

A group of Afghan high school girls were able to invent a cheaper ventilator model. This invention is expected to help thousands of COVID-19 patients in Afghanistan.

Compared to the 20,000 US dollars worth of ventilator, the model created by these high school girls only costs 700 US dollars.

According to the Good News Network, there are very limited ventilators in certain areas in the country. That is why this ventilator made by these high school girls is going to provide significant help.

The ventilator

The ventilator is lightweight and is mobile. It is powered by batteries and can run for ten hours.

Seven young girls from the Afghan Robotics Team in Herat City were responsible for the creation of this new ventilator.

The blueprint, which was provided by MIT, was the partial basis of the robotics team. Aside from MIT, the group was also guided by robotics experts from Harvard.

According to Somaya Faruqi, one of the girls who created the ventilator, they are happy that their hard work has paid off. She said, "We are delighted that we were able to take our first step in the field of medicine and to be able to serve the people in this area as well."

Although the plan initially seemed impossible, the team was determined to accomplish it.

Health officials are proud of the initiative of these high school girls. The Minister of Health in Afghanistan said, "We appreciate the initiative and creativity in Afghanistan's health sector...after they are approved, we will use these ventilators, and we are determined to contract with companies so we can also export them."

List of achievements

Before the group's breakthrough in the creation of the ventilator, they have joined several international competitions. During these competitions, they were able to bring home recognitions.

In 2017, they joined the First Global Challenge Robotics in Washington. Despite a few issues regarding their visas, they were able to continue joining and were awarded a silver.

Initially, the young girls were not granted a visa. However, after the public's outcry, they were granted the visa to visit the United States and were able to compete.

The group of young girls was also able to join and win the Entrepreneur Challenge in the International Robotex competition held in Europe. That was after they competed in Washington in 2017. They were able to win in this competition as well.