Zambian Youth Embarks on a Journey to Innovate Pain Relief Solutions

Meet Retiana Tiyamike Phiri, a remarkable young scientist defying stereotypes. At just 20 years old, she is not your typical scientist. She is an outgoing and charismatic leader, overseeing a dynamic team of six innovators at Invenker Technologies, a startup consisting of four male and two female students. Retiana has invented a product called PEC, a pain relief solution for both children and adults.

Love for Science

Retiana's journey into the world of science was inspired by her father, who encouraged her and her sisters to excel in Mathematics and Science, breaking gender norms.

“I am the third born in a family of only girls. I have five sisters. Dad always said Maths and Science was also for girls and urged us to prove that we were smart and competitive.”

Despite occasional pressure from extended family members for the girls to choose what they termed ‘easy’ subjects and courses of study, Retiana and her siblings worked hard and excelled at Mathematics and Science subjects, sometimes perceived as difficult pathways for girls. While attending school at Roma Girls Secondary School in Lusaka, Retiana turned out to be the President for the school’s Junior Engineers Technicians and Scientists (JETS) club, a Zambian Government-led initiative that promotes the learning of scientific subjects through innovations and exhibitions among learners.

Health Challenge

According to Retiana, through her experience during industrial attachments as a bio-medical student, public health facilities in Zambia have limited options for pain relief while those in the private sector are expensive.

“Public hospitals do not have certain medical devices. The only things patients are exposed to are hot water bottles and pain killers and maybe a massage with rub-on or any type of rubbing balm. Private sector facilities have availability, but they are very costly because they are buying machines that will be used by more than one person,” she said.

Innovation

PEC was born in 2020 but developed in 2021 when Retiana enrolled to study for a Diploma in Biomedical Engineering at Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka. Since that year, she has not looked back in finding ways of relieving back pain, arthritis, and other types of physical discomfort among people.

“What triggered this idea was because I used to experience bad menstrual cramps every month. I would use either pain killers or hot water bottles.”

Both options presented problems for Retiana as she could not take pain killers all the time due to a kidney problem that she had experienced for four years. On the other hand, carrying around a hot water bottle was not convenient including the fact that the water would soon cool down and become ineffective.

Retiana also explains the convenience of PEC.

“Instead of waiting for me as a Biomedical Engineer to come and switch on and move the machine for them to properly set it up, we could have a more wearable form that is easily placed on the patient. Also note that imported wearable devices are expensive due to shipping costs so why not have something that is made here in Zambia and have more treatment options for that device”? she wondered.

A closer look at PEC

“We have come up with different devices and keep making improvements based on the feedback we get from clients. You cannot see the parts of the equipment as we assemble and then get someone to nicely place in a fabric that is comfortable to wear. I have made different wearable devices for different parts of the body, so it depends on where the pain is and you pick the right device,” she said.

Response

“Many people have tried my equipment. I too always use it when I experience abdominal pain. I also get a lot of feedback from my grandmother who usually experiences pain due to Arthritis. She tells me if I need to reduce the heat, vibration, or design for more comfort on the body,” Retiana explained.

Support from the United Nations

Retiana’s project was selected in 2021 through the National Innovation Initiative (NII) – a nationwide competitive call for innovations by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Zambia and partners that included the National Technology Business Centre (NTBC) and the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), PACRA and with support from  UNFPA. Following her application, she won the Youngest Innovation Award under the 2021 National Innovation Initiative.

Following the award, her innovation has benefitted from mentorship and technical support from UNDP through its Accelerator Lab , which is part of UNDP’s drive to be an agile incubator of local solutions that have a high potential to  accelerate progress towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Further, the project, which is now under the experimentation stage. It has also benefitted from technical advice from engineering personnel from the Copperbelt University (CBU) in Kitwe, under the Experimentation Programme, led by the National Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR) in collaboration with CBU located in Zambia’s mineral rich Copperbelt Province.. Within the college [Evelyn Hone], the team receives support from the Physiotherapy Department that provides guidance on needed adjustments to the innovation.

“Through the Accelerator Lab’s Experimentation Programme we are also receiving support with regulatory approval and guidance on procedures and purchasing of components. They have also assigned experts to provide feedback on engineering and technical aspects as we work towards trials and the launch,” said Retiana.

Due to Retina’s enthusiasm and passion for innovation, she is currently serving on the Experimentation Committee, providing strategic advice to the implementation of the Unipod (another UNDP Innovation initiative) being setup at the Copperbelt University to ensure that programs developed for female led innovations are relevant and targeted at promoting their participation.

Dreams

With a distant gaze, Retiana spelled out what she would like to see from her efforts.

“I want to be the first to manufacture medical equipment in Zambia and improve the health sector in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3. The more we manufacture our own equipment as Zambia, the better the health care access in this country,” she said.

“This innovation requires different types of skills, so we want to create employment not just for us but everyone. We want to hire more young people, women and girls that have the skill. We want to be impactful in different ways.”

Team

She believes that young people can make a difference.

“As young people we are energetic and have fresh brains. We can acquire different skills. Young people should be today’s leaders. We cannot wait for tomorrow,” she said.

One of her team members is Emmanuel Mwape, aged 23, a final year Biomedical Engineering Student at Evelyn Hone College. He embraces Retiana’s leadership and is happy to be part of the team.

“I do not feel intimidated being led by a female as women also have what it takes to lead.  I met Retiana in 2021 as we were in the same class and wanted to know who this girl was that talked all smart. We had a long conversation that lasted from a few minutes to hours. We later started working together.”

Emmanuel sees a lot of promise in the PEC innovation. “Locally I see a lot of people being helped including the old, and others such as truck drivers who sit for a long hours as they drive and may end up with back pain. I see PEC being implemented and helping many people,” said Emmanuel.

As the globe stands at the halfway mark to 2030, which is the deadline for progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, youth-led efforts are key in fostering hope that countries can rescue the Global Goals in the remaining seven years.

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