Mónica Pimiento moved from Colombia to Stuttgart to do her master’s degree. She completed it in 2021, developing a measuring device for her final master’s project. It shows breathing rate and body temperature. In view of the COVID-19 health crisis, Pimiento wanted to put her development to good use in Colombia. People in the Norte de Santander region often have poor healthcare provision. This situation has deteriorated further during the pandemic. The Migration and Diaspora Programme run by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funded Pimiento to work on the ground for five months for the Humanitos Foundation.

She had already been volunteering with the foundation since 2015, teaching English and technology. After trialling her measuring device in the region and modifying it to different skin tones and body sizes, she taught two of the foundation’s partner schools how to use it. The foundation then distributed 40 devices to families in remote areas. If laboratory tests are not sufficiently available, readings from the device not only indicate that someone has COVID-19 but may also point to other illnesses. The families can then seek further medical assistance.