The GSM Association, in conjunction technology company Voxiva, has developed a mobile phone application for health institutions in developing nations, to help manage and track the spread of HIV and other diseases.
The organisations have successfully piloted the technology project in Rwanda, and intend to start national deployment in the first quarter of 2007, says Dawn Hartley, development fund manager for the GSM Association. "The project will scale up province by province and ultimately all of Rwanda will be covered."
According to the Voxiva Web site, health workers in the field can use the mobile phone software to submit critical data to central health authorities in real-time. Voxiva has a health management information systems in Rwanda, which allow health officials to view, analyse and respond to vital data immediately.
The software is written in Java, making it compatible with many mobile phone devices, says Hartley. Health workers in the field can collate data and send it back to the head office via GPRS, she says. If there is no GPRS signal, data will be sent via SMS. The software allows health workers to communicate in a dual fashion: apart from being able to send information from the field, health workers can access treatment guidelines, training materials and other information.
Platform
The GSM Association began the project in Rwanda because Voxiva already has a live platform in the country that it could build on, says Hartley. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, SA, Tanzania, Kenya, Ivory Coast and Mozambique are African countries which have priority in receiving this project, she says.
The companies have been working with Rwanda MTN during the pilot, which has been a success, she says. The GSM Association is planning to continue working with MTN and other mobile providers when rolling-out this project in other countries.
"We believe ICT has significant potential to improve health and quality of life," she says. "We estimate at least half a million people will benefit directly from a national deployment of the mobile phone software and at least 25% of the population, two million, will benefit indirectly.
"Mobile technology has the ability to capture and report patient, outbreak and treatment details instantly, enabling rapid intervention."
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