Diamond miner De Beers has provided a grant of €288 999, or R4-million, to a Limpopo-based company called Erada Technology Alliance to aid in its development of a technology focused on reducing the global malaria burden.
Erada is pioneering work on the world’s first-ever saliva-based rapid test for diagnosing and identifying malaria – known as Saliva-based Malaria Asymptomatic and Asexual Rapid Test – to be marketed under the brand SALVA!
The solution will be launched globally during World Malaria Day in April 2020. It is easy to use and includes a simple device for standardised collection of saliva that can be performed in the community by healthcare professionals, teachers and parents, instead of invasive blood tests that can only be done by trained clinicians.
De Beers said its funding formed part of a long-standing strategy of supporting community and health projects.
“While the grant is focused on providing particular benefits to communities in Africa, it will impact the global fight against one of the deadliest diseases, which kills an estimated 435 000 people a year, mostly children from Sub-Saharan Africa under the age of five,” De Beers explained in a statement on Friday.
Erada founder Dr Benji Pretorius noted that the grant from De Beers would enable the company to complete much of its vital preparatory work before it was able to conduct field trials and finalise the commercialisation of SALVA!.