News

LumenUs helps automate tedious paperwork in times of grief

Published

3 weeks ago

October 9, 2026

When Sara Tashakorinia’s husband died in a car accident eight years ago, the last thing she needed was the roughly 570 hours of paperwork it takes, on average, to settle a loved one’s affairs. But for millions of people each year, this is their reality: a crushing loss, followed by a soullessly mundane avalanche of tedious administrative work.

“The day your loved one passes away, you also get this honorary badge of a project manager for a project you had no idea about, trying to navigate something and learn something when you literally have zero information,” Tashakorinia told TechCrunch.

After years of volunteering to help others navigate what she had to learn on her own, it occurred to Tashakorinia that AI might be able to help — not with the complex, messy experience of grieving and healing, but with the least human parts of the process, like finding the right tax forms, filing insurance claims, and shutting down bank accounts.

The result is LumenUs, the grief care platform that Tashakorinia founded last year to relieve grieving families of some of the administrative burden.

“I think going through it, your threshold of pain is so high, and you’re so lost that you don’t really realize, why do people treat you this way? Why was I left with a stack of paperwork, and why was the funeral home charging me a 300% markup on a casket?” Tashakorinia said.

While Tashakorinia hopes LumenUs will eventually support people throughout the lifelong grieving process, the startup will initially focus on people in the immediate aftermath of a death. When people initially join the platform, they go through an onboarding process in which they share information about the nature of their particular situation.

“We are asking very specific questions to understand the legal and financial means, and their state of mind, and this is only to personalize who they are, and then personalizing what happened,” Tashakorinia said.

From there, the platform organizes tasks by urgency, helping users decipher what needs to be done immediately and what can wait. In some cases, this can even help people discover that they’re entitled to money that can help ease the financial burden of death. In fact, billions of dollars in life insurance benefits go unclaimed because people don’t know they’re available.

“We are using AI to automate as much as we can to save time during this process, and give it back to [users],” she said.

Tashakorinia has a background in cybersecurity, which is sure to prove essential for building a product that asks people to share so much sensitive personal and financial information. She is building LumenUs alongside co-founders Sajad Mirzaei, a former engineer at Google and Box, and Larry Keeley, an innovation scientist, professor, and entrepreneur. The team is also consulting with clinicians and social workers while testing the product.

LumenUs, a participant in this year’s upcoming Startup Battlefield 200, TechCrunch’s annual showcase of promising early-stage startups, will launch in early access in October.

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Niger: Vatsa appointed SDP campaign spokesperson, days after dumping APC

Published

1 hour ago

October 30, 2026

PlateauReports

Former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Jonathan Vatsa, has been appointed Spokesperson and Director of Contacts and Mobilisation of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, governorship campaign council ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Vatsa recently defected from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the SDP.

The SDP governorship candidate, Mohammed Ndarani Mohammed, SAN, announced the appointments in a letter personally signed by him and made available to journalists in Minna on Friday.

The appointments came barely 48 hours after Vatsa defected from the APC to the SDP alongside more than 200 supporters.

Ndarani described Vatsa, a former pioneer Publicity Secretary of the APC in Niger State, as an outspoken politician with considerable grassroots influence, media experience and mobilisation capacity.

He said the former commissioner's political experience and communication skills would strengthen the SDP's efforts to challenge the ruling APC in the state in 2027.

"Your appointment is a testament to your towering political profile, fearless advocacy, exceptional oratory, media management skills, profound grassroots penetration and unmatched mobilisation prowess," the letter stated.

The SDP candidate said Vatsa's dual responsibilities as campaign spokesperson and Director of Contacts and Mobilisation were deliberate and strategic, given his experience in media communication and grassroots politics.

Ndarani described him as one of the most fearless, vocal and respected political voices in the state.

"You speak powerfully and you mobilise massively. We need your voice to shape public opinion and your network to deliver the votes," he added.

As campaign spokesperson, Vatsa is expected to communicate the party's five-point agenda to voters and serve as the official voice of the campaign council.

In his capacity as Director of Contacts and Mobilisation, he will coordinate grassroots campaign activities across the state's 25 local government areas, 247 political wards and 4,950 polling units.

His responsibilities also include mobilising community leaders, traditional institutions and religious organisations, as well as coordinating house-to-house, door-to-door, market-to-market and farm-to-farm campaigns.

Niger: Vatsa appointed SDP campaign spokesperson, days after dumping APC

Health

Nigeria’s under-five mortality rate drops 17%, neonatal deaths rise – Official

Published

3 hours ago

October 30, 2026

PlateauReports

The federal government has expressed concern over the rise in neonatal mortality in Nigeria, despite a decline in deaths among children under five.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, disclosed this while citing the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey at the commemoration of the 2026 National Health Promotion Day in Abuja on Thursday.

According to the survey, under-five mortality declined from 132 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 110 in 2024, representing a reduction of about 17 per cent.

However, neonatal mortality, which measures deaths within the first 28 days of life, increased from 39 to 41 deaths per 1,000 live births within the same period.

Mr Pate, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Daju Kachollom, said the figures highlight the need to accelerate preventive healthcare, early diagnosis and timely access to quality medical services.

The event, themed “Health Promotion: Owning My Health,” with the slogan “Take Charge, Live Well,” marked the third edition of the National Health Promotion Day.

The minister reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which prioritises improving maternal and child health, strengthening primary healthcare, expanding immunisation, tackling non-communicable diseases and reducing the burden of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

He described health promotion as a strategic investment in the country’s health system, noting that improving health outcomes required more than the availability of hospital services.

According to him, preventive interventions, informed individual choices, healthier environments and systems that support citizens’ wellbeing are equally important.

Preventive healthcare

Mr Pate listed ongoing preventive health interventions to include hypertension detection, hepatitis elimination through initiatives such as Project 365, cervical cancer prevention and screening, improved nutrition, immunisation and measures to prevent and control communicable diseases.

He said the impact of these interventions should be measured through increased screening, completed referrals, access to treatment and the prevention of avoidable illnesses.

He also stressed that public awareness must be matched by accessible, affordable and effective healthcare services.

According to the minister, awareness campaigns alone would not produce the desired outcomes if people could not access screening, obtain appropriate treatment or receive safe and respectful care.

He called for stronger collaboration among families, schools, workplaces, traditional and religious institutions, the media, civil society organisations, development partners and the private sector to promote healthy diets, physical activity, good hygiene, mental wellbeing, vaccination and appropriate screening.

He also urged stakeholders to address misinformation and harmful health practices.

The minister further called on all levels of government to integrate health promotion into routine primary healthcare, community engagement and development planning to ensure that vulnerable and underserved populations were not left behind.

He urged Nigerians to embrace the campaign slogan, “Take Charge, Live Well,” by seeking credible health information, understanding their health risks, participating in recommended screening and immunisation programmes, and seeking medical attention promptly when necessary.

Stakeholders pledge support

In their goodwill messages, development partners and civil society organisations reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in advancing health promotion.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNDP) representative, Olukunle Omotoso, emphasised the importance of community engagement, health literacy, gender equality and access to sexual and reproductive health services, particularly for women and young people.

CARE International, represented by Oluloto Ebenezer, also pledged continued support for initiatives aimed at promoting positive health-related behavioural changes at the community level.

Similarly, the Africa Health Budget Network highlighted the importance of family planning, healthy nutrition and routine screening for hypertension and diabetes.

The Permanent Secretary, Ms Kachollom, encouraged participants to take advantage of screening services provided at the event to promote early disease detection and encourage greater responsibility for personal health.

Nigeria’s maternal and newborn mortality burden

The latest figures come against the backdrop of Nigeria’s high burden of maternal and newborn deaths.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria recorded a maternal mortality ratio of 1,047 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020.

In its 2023 report, titled “Improving Maternal and Newborn Health and Survival and Reducing Stillbirths: Progress Report 2023,” WHO estimated that Nigeria recorded 82,000 maternal deaths, 181,000 stillbirths and 277,000 neonatal deaths in 2020.

The combined 540,000 deaths accounted for 12 per cent of global maternal, stillbirth and neonatal deaths, despite Nigeria contributing only six per cent of the world’s live births.

The report ranked Nigeria second after India among the countries with the highest combined burden of maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths.