what is the 3% problem?
Most of the word’s medical equipment gets 3% of the needed technical support. Workshops are inadequate; tools are missing; parts are scarce; staff have limited training.
Most of the world’s medical equipment isn’t designed to work outside of air-conditioned hospitals with stable electricity and easy access to support.
Global health deserves better.
How?
By having a design process informed by ethnographic research. By designing medical systems that are easy to support. By integrating designs into the local context and infrastructure. By making designs open-source. By using iterative design. By providing technical support. By training healthcare workers to look after their own technology. By having communities participate in the design of their own healthcare services.
Biomed Kitchen puts aside 3% of every invoice to help support healthcare technology in under-resourced communities.
Be a part of the story…
We are developing biomedkitchen.org.au - an Australian, non-profit, unincorporated association that brings talented professionals together who want to work on the 3% problem.
The association seeks…
Individual members who will volunteer their time and skills to support low-resource projects around the world
Professional members and organisations who will help fund projects through their for-profit work
Committee members who will make decisions about which projects are funded
Contact us if you want to get involved.
The association aims to register as a charity in 2026.