For the third time in one year, a young Ghanaian innovator, Bright Simons, has brought honour to Ghana as he has been named a 2009 Tech Awards Laureate by the Tech Museum for Innovation. The innovative ICT software, mPedigree developed by Bright Simons, which checks the influx of fake drugs has captivated the entire world, winning him a number of awards. Early on this year, mPedigree won the 1st place in the Emerging Markets category of the Nokia Innovators contest. mPedigree is an application that allows users to text messages at no cost, a quality-authentication code found on the packaging of anti-malarial and other medications to a provisioned mobile shortcode in order to guard against counterfeit drugs believed to be responsible for an alarming number of deaths, especially in the developing world. mPedigree won another award in the WAS e-Health and Environment category. A press release from the organizers of the event announcing the winners said the Tech Awards: Technology Benefiting Humanity is one of the premier annual humanitarian awards programs in the world, recognizing technical solutions that benefit humanity and address the most critical issues facing our planet and its people. The awards programme it said, honours 15 scientists and innovators annually alongside the recipient of the Global Humanitarian Award. Last year’s Humanitarian Award went to Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States of America. Laureates are selected by a prestigious panel of international judges organized by the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Santa Clara University, and made up of Santa Clara University faculty as well as leaders from educational and research institutions, industry and the public sector around the world. The release noted that Bright Simons, Coordinator of the mPedigree Network, was named to The Tech Awards Laureates 2009, as one of 15 global innovators recognized each year for applying technology to benefit humanity and spark global change. The Tech Awards, a signature program of The Tech Museum, and presented by Applied Materials, Inc., selected mPedigree Network from among hundreds of nominations representing 66 countries. “The Tech Awards is an incredible honor, recognizing individuals and organizations whose ideas and execution of those ideas are changing the world,” said Franklin Cudjoe, Ag. Chief Evangelist of mPedigree Network. “We are proud to be among those recognized for their contributions, and will continue to develop solutions that improve the overall well being of people worldwide. We are particularly ecstatic that our efforts to counter the trade in fake medicines in the region have received so resounding, an endorsement from none other than the prestigious Tech Museum for Innovation,” he adds. With the mounting cost of healthcare in Africa coupled with the dangers associated with using fake drugs, the mPedigree innovation is an enormous boost to healthcare on the continent. The award which comes with a $50,000 reward is therefore, well deserved. Source: Ghana Businessnews.com