Kokono

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), more than one-third of the population lives below the extreme poverty line (<$1.90 per day), and this region is home to 347 of the world’s 702 million poor. The high fertility rate (5.2 children per woman) reaches particularly high levels in Uganda, a country that records 4,956 births per day, totaling 1.8 million newborns per year—corresponding to an annual population growth rate of 3%.

The combination of high birth rates and widespread poverty condemns large segments of the Ugandan population to conditions of deprivation, exposing them to particularly high health and hygiene risks, especially in rural areas of the country or on the outskirts of the capital.

This context is reflected in the high infant mortality rate, which in newborns is linked to three main causes

Infectious diseases, including malaria
Domestic accidents due to the absence of dedicated protective shelter for newborns
Attacks from animals (reptiles, insects, rodents)

KOKONO™ is a cradle conceived and designed by De-LAB to mitigate these risks by providing mobile shelter for newborns, ensuring they are protected both indoors and outdoors, whether in transit or at rest. KOKONO™ is produced and distributed in Uganda, contributing to the development and support of a sustainable production process that involves Ugandans as suppliers, distributors, educators, and end users.

EDU-KO™ is a maternal and child health education program that will accompany KOKONO™ in the villages where it is distributed. The training program will be implemented by De-LAB in partnership with local and international NGOs and will enable families using KOKONO™ to learn and adopt good practices to safeguard the health of both newborns and mothers.

KO-IMPACT™ is a social impact measurement framework that will accompany the entire distribution journey of KOKONO™ across the villages. It will allow us to assess the short-, medium-, and long-term impacts generated by the use of KOKONO™ within the communities.