The Ugandan Health Information Network (UHIN) is setting up its own wireless access point (AP), the African Access Point (AAP), to cut the costs of disseminating health data in rural areas, says Berhane Gebru, project development manager of Satellife.
Satellife is a Massachusetts-based non-governmental organisation, which has funded UHIN`s health network service since 2003.
The AAP, providing a reliable, cost-effective data transmission system, will be established by August, says Gebru.
He notes that the wireless AP that the UHIN is currently using costs $1 500 per month, whereas, for the AAP, hardware costs amount to $600. Data cached in the AAP is transmitted via the existing cellular network and the cost of transmission of such data is determined by the local GSM/GPRS carrier.
The costs lie in the fact that the current wireless AP is unable to cope with the "schizophrenic" power supply, says Gebru.
"The AAP is modelled around power shortages; it has a battery pack, which is charged through solar panels, mains or a car battery and when charged lasts up to five hours."
Open standards
The AAP will also be more cost-effective as it is not based on proprietary software standards and can therefore be updated free of cost, says Gebru.
"The current wireless AP is a proprietary system which causes high costs in licence upgrades."
UHIN was established to help Ugandan health workers to access and disseminate health and medical information through the use of personal digital assistants, interfaced with the local GSM/GPRS cellular telephone network via wireless APs, explains Gebru.
The network now reaches 160 health centres, serving close to a million people in the rural areas of Rakai, Mbale and Manafwa, he adds.
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