Argentinian doctor Nicolas Werthheimer
An Argentinian medical doctor has returned to his home country to use AI and remote sensing to provide a snapshot of the risk water-related disasters.
Nicolas Wertheimer M.D., who was also named in Forbes Argentina’s 30 Promesas Forbes in 2019, says the project was born out of his personal experiences and observations in local communities in Argentina.
“My medical journey made me want to return to Latin America and focus on one of the most critical issues affecting the region and the second leading cause of death for children under 5 years old… waterborne diseases,” he says, adding that it became clear that relying solely on antibiotics and anti-parasite medications was insufficient.
“I also couldn’t ignore the detrimental impact of deforestation and excessive water usage in agriculture in the Latin American region,” he says, “To truly address this problem, we needed to take a comprehensive approach.”
Wertheimer says that’s how Waterplan, the start-up he co-founded, was born.
“We recognized the need to train people and mobilize collective action to improve water access and hygiene in local and vulnerable communities,” he says, adding that the company aims to show organizations the business case for mitigating water disasters, incentivizing them to save water, abate water pollution and conserve watersheds.
“Now, with advanced technology like remote sensing, we’re able to analyze factors such as water quantity and quality, reputational risks, regulatory issues, and infrastructure constraints,” he says, “By doing so, we allow our partners to set and monitor targets and use global data sets to prioritize actions and protect vulnerable ecosystems and communities.”
Nicolas Werthheimer in Chaco province in 2015.
Wertheimer grew up in Argentina and chose to pursue a career in medicine at the Universidad Austral of Buenos Aires, and then specialized in cardiac surgery and trauma surgery at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.
“Our project focuses on providing value globally rather than emphasizing our Latin American origins, however, there’s significant expertise and experience from local talent who have dealt (and are dealing) with challenges such as extreme droughts, watershed issues, deforestation, vulnerable communities, and infrastructure limitations in our countries,” he says.
Wertheimer says the importance of Global South science lies in the unique perspectives and expertise that scientists from the area can bring to the table when investigating solutions to global challenges.
“By tapping into that expertise, we can identify similarities, approaches, and tools that can be applied worldwide in other regions suffering from the same issues,” he says, “It’s in the firsthand experiences and learning from vulnerable communities, often located within the Global South, that scientific developments in the area can serve as a driver for scientific advancements and technology creation to mitigate and prevent such challenges globally.”
Highway that crosses the province of Chaco, Argentina.
Another STEM worker turned entrepreneur is Rwandan mechanical engineer Christelle Kwizera.
Kwizera, who grew up in the aftermath of the country’s genocide is now using a network of boreholes and purified water microgrids to give over 100,000 people access to water – especially important during the Covid-19 pandemic.
