According to the UN, while 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, billions of people live in remote and underdeveloped places far away from medical attention. In consequence, according to Forbes, half the world’s population has limited access to diagnostics, especially people in remote locations where simple routine exams like mammograms are still a distant reality.

In these remote areas, many premature deaths could be avoided with just a simple test. That is why we partnered with KDOG to create Dogs Without Borders — a first-of-its-kind initiative that uses medical dogs to sniff out disease in remote areas where doctors and diagnostics are out of reach. Dogs Without Borders rescues dogs waiting to die in shelters and trains them to save people in isolated locations.

By just sniffing odor samples from locals, dogs can diagnose diseases before it is too late, saving human lives in consequence.

Millions of people living in remote, underdeveloped areas don’t have access to hospitals and diagnostics. In some areas, villagers have to walk hundreds of miles, boat for hours or ride a donkey for multiple days to see a doctor.

While people in urban areas have access to medical attention, we can’t ignore the unequal reality of those who die prematurely for reasons that can be easily avoided with just a simple medical test.

On the other hand, millions of dogs living in overpopulated shelters don’t get a second chance. That is why Dogs Without Borders accomplishes two significant objectives that promote sustainability:rescue dogs that are going to die and train them to detect diseases of people who, without these dogs’ detection training, probably would die prematurely without the medical tests that DWB provides them.

We partnered with KDOG, a project founded by the internationally renowned Curie Institute, to create Dogs Without Borders — a first-of-its-kind initiative that uses medical dogs to sniff out disease in remote areas where doctors and diagnostics are out of reach. Dogs Without Borders rescues dogs waiting to die in shelters and trains them to save people in isolated locations.

Detection is possible thanks to a bone-shaped “odor collection kit” that we created and handed to locals with all they need for the collection: visual instructions, soap, gauze and a thermal ziplock bag for the sample. The kit is designed to withstand harsh environments. After collection, the odor samples are sniffed by the dogs. The sooner they sniff them , the sooner patients can be sent for further analysis and treatment.

Cancer is just the beginning for us, we’re expanding to other diseases and countries.

Data from the UN shows that half the world has limited access to diagnostics, especially those living in remote areas. While data from the Curie Institute and other renowned research institutes reveal that dogs can detect Cancer, Malaria, COVID-19, diabetes, Parkinson’s among other diseases by sniffing out odor samples.

Some of those studies started in Paris with scientists at the Curie Institute, through their KDOG division, which has investigated the potential of dogs detecting disease for years. With over 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, dogs are able to detect Cancer in very early stages with 100% accuracy, in some cases. Even before a tumor is formed.

Dogs Without Borders saves dogs from shelters and trains them to detect disease in remote communities. It’s an entirely new approach to diagnostics; one that is scalable, more affordable, yet as reliable as conventional diagnostics and in some cases more accurate.

We started designing our bone-shaped “odor collection kit” in April of 2022. The kit contains everything locals need to perform the collection themselves, and it’s designed to withstand the harshest environments.

Dogs started being rescued and trained also in April last year, and they became ready about 6-8 months later. Then, in January of this year, we started taking them to remote communities, including the Amazon forest in Brazil, the Sahara desert in Morocco and some small villages in Spain, places where the closest hospital is often hundreds of miles away.

According to scientists, dogs can be more accurate than our best diagnostic machines, but way cheaper, which makes them a scalable solution for areas that lack the financial resources and infrastructure to run expensive laboratory equipment.

Kdog is currently in talks with the federal government of countries such as Brazil to make dogs part of the public health system.

Over 1,000 patients have been diagnosed, across three different continents. The collected samples not only help save lives that could be lost if patients go undiagnosed, but they also become a tool for future research and dog training. With dogs being able to detect diseases like cancer with 100% accuracy, the governments in certain countries like Brazil are already in conversations with KDOG to make our four-legged friends part of the public health system.

Thanks to our affiliate program, Dogs Without Borders is expanding operations to tackle many other diseases such as malaria, COVID-19, diabetes, and Parkinson’s among others.

Dogs Without Borders is now on its way to become an independent NGO that can reach millions living in communities where doctors and diagnostics are a distant reality.

In many developing countries such as Brazil and Morocco, a big part of the population lives in remote areas that lack access to hospitals and medical attention.Very often, small villages and communities don’t even have electricity to run the most basic diagnostic devices. And when they do, they don’t have financial resources to afford them. With that said, the overall perception of the project is so positive in every market the idea took place that Kdog is already in advanced talks with the government in countries like Brazil to make our four-legged friends part of the public health system. Dogs Without Borders became so relevant for many isolated communities in 3 different continents that the initiative is now on its way to become an independent NGO that can reach millions more living where doctors and diagnostics are a distant reality.