UiA research project develops mobile app to combat world’s most neglected tropical diseases

A research project at UiA is working to combat one of the world’s most neglected tropical diseases. A mobile app has now been developed to train healthcare workers in Africa to detect the disease.

Over 56 million girls and women are affected by female genital schistosomiasis (FGS).

The disease is caused by the flatworm Schistosoma, which lives in fresh water and infects humans through the skin.

The symptoms of FGS can resemble those of cervical cancer, which affects 400 million women in Africa. Misdiagnosis is widespread.

At the same time, the symptoms can be easily confused with those of sexually transmitted infections, which can have serious negative consequences for young girls. Girls and women with FGS are also at higher risk of HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV).

"Worldwide, there are only a handful of healthcare professionals who are able to diagnose it," says Professor Santiago Gil Martinez at the Centre for e-Health at UiA.

Built for the real world

A new mobile app is now set to help detect the disease. The app has been developed in collaboration between the IT department at UiA, the Department of Health and Sports Science and UiA Nyskaping. This is the first time that UiA's own IT developers have delivered a complete digital product for a research project.

The app has been developed with the actual working conditions users face on a daily basis in mind.

"Once downloaded, it can be used without an internet connection. Healthcare professionals can choose for themselves how much of the content they want to have available, depending on their phone's storage capacity and access to mobile data", says Hanne Skagestad Eikerapen, project manager for the app's development at the IT department.

To address local challenges such as strong sunlight, dark rooms and limited access to electricity, dark mode has been included in the very first version.

Four-year study in three countries

The app development is based on the four-year research project DUALSAVE-FGS, which was an EU-funded study carried out in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique.

Among other things, the project has developed a small camera - a so-called colposcope - which connects to a smartphone. This can take images of sores and lesions, and has been specifically adapted and tested for FGS diagnosis. The aim is for the colposcopes to be manufactured locally in Africa.

Around 20 young researchers, most of whom are from African countries, are undertaking PhDs as part of the project. New knowledge about FGS and images from the mini-colposcopes are being used in the new app.

The FGS Training Application was pre-launched during the international FGS Summit conference at i4Helse on the Grimstad campus, 15-16 June 2026. It will be available on Google Play and the App Store this autumn.