Global Context: The Burden of Malnutrition
Malnutrition is one of the leading causes of child mortality and developmental delays worldwide. Despite global efforts to combat hunger, millions of children continue to suffer from undernutrition, leading to severe health consequences. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2022:
149 million children under 5 were stunted (too short for their age).
45 million children were wasted (too thin for their height).
37 million children were overweight or living with obesity [1].
Undernutrition is particularly devastating for infants and young children. Nearly half of all deaths among children under 5 are linked to undernutrition, with the majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries [1]. The long-term consequences extend beyond health—malnutrition affects cognitive development, school performance, future earning potential, and economic growth at a national level.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) highlights the urgency of addressing malnutrition to ensure that every child has access to sufficient, nutritious food [2]. One of the most effective ways to fight malnutrition is through early detection, allowing healthcare workers and NGOs to intervene before it leads to life-threatening conditions.
Operational Challenge: The Need for Accurate Infant Weight Monitoring
For infants and young children, weight gain is one of the most critical indicators of proper nutrition and overall health. Regular weight measurements allow healthcare workers to:
Detect early signs of malnutrition.
Assess the effectiveness of feeding programs.
Provide targeted interventions for at-risk children.
One of the most reliable ways to evaluate an infant’s nutritional intake is by measuring their weight before and after breastfeeding. This pre- and post-feeding measurement helps determine:
Whether the baby is receiving enough milk: A healthy breastfeeding session results in a measurable weight increase (typically around 5-30 grams per feeding).
If the mother is experiencing lactation issues: Inconsistent or insufficient weight gain may indicate a problem with milk production or the baby’s ability to feed properly.
In low-resource settings, where medical infrastructure is limited, accurate weight monitoring is often the first and only tool available for identifying malnutrition early enough to prevent severe consequences. However, existing solutions present major challenges.
Technical Challenge: The Lack of High-Precision, Low-Cost Weighing Scales
Despite the critical role of infant weight monitoring, there is currently no affordable and portable solution that meets the needs of NGOs and healthcare workers in the field. The available options fall into two problematic categories:
High-precision baby weighing scales (< $1,000):
Used in hospitals and clinics but far too expensive for NGOs.
Not built for field use—bulky, fragile, and difficult to transport.
Affordable baby weighing scales (> $100):
Lacking the precision needed to reliably measure small weight changes (5g increments or less).
Inconsistent results, making it impossible to track feeding effectiveness or subtle weight fluctuations.
Without access to a high-precision, low-cost alternative, frontline healthcare workers are left without a reliable way to monitor malnutrition effectively. This gap in available technology means that thousands of infants go undiagnosed or receive delayed intervention, increasing their risk of severe malnutrition and related health complications.
Wooby was created to bridge this gap. By developing an accessible, high-precision, and low-cost weighing scale, we aim to empower NGOs, healthcare professionals, and communities to take action against malnutrition—one precise measurement at a time.