According to the university, the new training app aims to help healthcare workers in Africa accurately detect the condition, which is frequently misdiagnosed due to symptoms that resemble cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infections.
The Diagnostic Challenge in African Healthcare
Female genital schistosomiasis is caused by the flatworm Schistosoma, which lives in fresh water and infects humans through the skin. Worldwide, there are only a handful of healthcare professionals who are able to diagnose it, according to Professor Santiago Gil Martinez from the Center for e-Health at UiA. Because the symptoms mirror those of cervical cancer—a condition affecting 400 million women in Africa—and various sexually transmitted infections, misdiagnosis remains widespread. This diagnostic confusion can carry serious negative consequences for young girls, who also face a higher risk of contracting HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV) if they have FGS.
Did you know? Over 56 million girls and women are affected by female genital schistosomiasis worldwide, yet only a handful of healthcare professionals globally possess the ability to diagnose the condition accurately.
Building a Mobile App for Real-World Conditions
To combat this knowledge gap, a newly developed mobile app is set to train healthcare workers on the ground. The project is a collaboration between the IT department at UiA, the Department of Health and Sports Science, and UiA Nyskaping, marking the first time UiA’s internal IT developers have delivered a complete digital product for a research project.
Developers designed the application around the actual working conditions users face daily. Once downloaded, the software functions entirely without an internet connection. Hanne Skagestad Eikerapen, project manager for the app’s development at the IT department, notes that healthcare professionals can choose how much content to keep available depending on phone storage capacity and mobile data access. To tackle local environmental challenges like strong sunlight, dark rooms, and limited electricity, developers included a dark mode in the very initial version.
Four-Year Research Backing and Local Hardware
The app’s underlying framework builds on the four-year research project DUALSAVE-FGS, an EU-funded study conducted across South Africa, Eswatini, and Mozambique. As part of this initiative, researchers developed a specialized miniature camera, or colposcope, that connects to a smartphone to capture images of sores and lesions. These devices are specifically adapted for FGS diagnosis, with future plans for local manufacturing within Africa.
Roughly 20 young researchers, primarily from African nations, are completing PhDs through the project. Their new knowledge regarding FGS, alongside images captured by the mini-colposcopes, feeds directly into the content of the training app. Following a pre-launch at the international FGS Summit conference held at i4Helse on the Grimstad campus on June 15–16, 2026, the application is scheduled for release on Google Play and the App Store this autumn.
Pro tip: Healthcare workers planning to utilize the FGS Training Application will be able to manage their storage by selecting specific modules for offline use, making it ideal for regions with intermittent mobile data connectivity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes female genital schistosomiasis (FGS)?
FGS is caused by the Schistosoma flatworm, which lives in fresh water and infects humans through direct skin contact.
How does the new UiA app help healthcare workers?
According to project developers, the FGS Training Application trains healthcare professionals in Africa to detect the disease, helping to prevent misdiagnoses with cervical cancer or sexually transmitted infections.
Does the app require a constant internet connection?
When will the app be available for download?
Following its pre-launch at the FGS Summit on 15-16 June 2026, the app is scheduled to be available on Google Play and the App Store this autumn.
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