M-SCAN Uganda

Phyllis co-founded M-SCAN Uganda in 2017 while participating in a community-based educational research project in medical school. She was posted to a rural, underprivileged part of Uganda, where she witnessed firsthand a severe lack of available resources for the care of pregnant women. Upon returning to the capital, Kampala, she along with her colleagues first conceptualised M-SCAN Uganda, an initiative specialising in innovative, portable ultrasound technology that reduces maternal mortality rates through early detection and effective intervention. 

Phyllis attended the One Young World Summit in London, 2019, which she found deeply inspiring. She heard from industry experts in healthcare, which pushed her further in her social impact journey. She also made several promising connections at the Summit, and remains in touch with her fellow Ambassadors. 

M-SCAN Uganda has so far performed over 8,079 ultrasounds, impacting more than 7,850 women. Its groundbreaking technology has detected over 991 complications through early diagnoses, working closely with the healthcare system to refer these pregnant women to hospitals that can provide them with the necessary care to ensure their safety. M-SCAN Uganda’s technology is significantly cheaper than more traditional ultrasound machines, and the organisation divides its revenue with the health clinics in which it operates, thereby helping to reinforce Uganda’s wider healthcare infrastructure. It also provides laptops through which its technology can run, and its solutions are solar-powered. M-SCAN Uganda has also directly trained nine frontline maternal health workers in rural communities in the country.

“I was mind blown by how much my scope of imagination was widened at the Summit, especially because you hear all these stories from people out there doing these formidable things. It inspired me to keep pushing the flag higher because it feels like there's a force out there that's fighting for the global good and I must be a part of it.”