Tech for Change
Hosted by the United Nations Foundation-Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership, the "Tech for Change" blog shares insight and experiences from the frontlines of innovative mobile technology use in support of United Nations and other humanitarian work worldwide.
Wednesday 13 May 2009, 2:58 PM
Rwanda: On the leading edge of the mHealth frontier
'Country looking and moving forward, not back'
by Claire Thwaites
Kigali, Rwanda -- With limited knowledge of the country aside from TV images from the horrific 1994 genocide, I was immediately struck by Rwanda's incredible atmosphere of progress and the resilience of its people. This is a country looking and moving forward, not back. It's a country that now strives to be the tech hub for Africa, an "African Singapore," as its President Paul Kagame likes to say.
Plans to deploy fiber optic cables to encircle the landlocked country in 2010 will help make this idea a reality. The country also has been especially successful in using mobile phones to improve public health and healthcare delivery. I was lucky enough to be able to witness one of the key mobile health (mHealth) programs-or healthcare programs being delivered with mobile technology-underway.
After a 30-minute drive through the rolling hills outside of Kigali, we arrived in Masaka, a community of about 25,000 people but only one health clinic. At this clinic, doctors and health workers are using TRACnet to monitor and manage 1,332 patients with HIV/AIDS.
Supported by the Rwandan Ministry of Health, Voxiva, and the Treatment Research and AIDS Centre (TRAC), TRACnet is an electronic records system that can be uploaded to mobile phones. In Masaka it is being used to track and record the distribution of anti-retroviral medications, ensure drug adherence, electronically create and submit patient reports, and access the most up-to-date information about HIV/AIDS care and treatment.
A growing number of countries in Africa and other developing communities are adopting this type of mHealth technology as a way to increase efficiency, decrease costs and greatly improve healthcare delivery. For example, the United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation Partnership, where I work, has partnered with the UN World Health Organization, the non-profit DataDyne.org and local ministries of health to develop mHealth initiatives in 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa - where mobile phones far outnumber health clinics or hospital beds. A recent publication we commissioned outlines over 50 examples of mHealth projects in nearly 30 countries. Together with the Rockefeller Foundation, we recently announced the formation of an mHealth Alliance to promote best practices in the field of mHealth and to help broaden the reach of modern healthcare technology to those that need it most.
In Masaka, I was guided through the health clinic by the local program manager, Hareuhana Diaedonne. During the tour, Hareuhana spoke at length about the simple but significant benefits that have been brought about by the introduction of mobile phones to the local healthcare system. Using TRACnet, he reported, data entry that used to take months to record and aggregate now can be collected in just 5 minutes.
Walking around the health centre, I was struck by how while the health facility itself is still rudimentary, the work of Hareuhana and others using mobile technology to promote healthcare is helping to land Masaka at the leading edge of the mHealth frontier.
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Claire Thwaites is the Head of the United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership, which provides strategic and financial support to the use of mobile technology to improve health data collection and healthcare delivery in the developing world.
by Claire Thwaites
Kigali, Rwanda -- With limited knowledge of the country aside from TV images from the horrific 1994 genocide, I was immediately struck by Rwanda's incredible atmosphere of progress and the resilience of its people. This is a country looking and moving forward, not back. It's a country that now strives to be the tech hub for Africa, an "African Singapore," as its President Paul Kagame likes to say.
Plans to deploy fiber optic cables to encircle the landlocked country in 2010 will help make this idea a reality. The country also has been especially successful in using mobile phones to improve public health and healthcare delivery. I was lucky enough to be able to witness one of the key mobile health (mHealth) programs-or healthcare programs being delivered with mobile technology-underway.
After a 30-minute drive through the rolling hills outside of Kigali, we arrived in Masaka, a community of about 25,000 people but only one health clinic. At this clinic, doctors and health workers are using TRACnet to monitor and manage 1,332 patients with HIV/AIDS.
Supported by the Rwandan Ministry of Health, Voxiva, and the Treatment Research and AIDS Centre (TRAC), TRACnet is an electronic records system that can be uploaded to mobile phones. In Masaka it is being used to track and record the distribution of anti-retroviral medications, ensure drug adherence, electronically create and submit patient reports, and access the most up-to-date information about HIV/AIDS care and treatment.
A growing number of countries in Africa and other developing communities are adopting this type of mHealth technology as a way to increase efficiency, decrease costs and greatly improve healthcare delivery. For example, the United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation Partnership, where I work, has partnered with the UN World Health Organization, the non-profit DataDyne.org and local ministries of health to develop mHealth initiatives in 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa - where mobile phones far outnumber health clinics or hospital beds. A recent publication we commissioned outlines over 50 examples of mHealth projects in nearly 30 countries. Together with the Rockefeller Foundation, we recently announced the formation of an mHealth Alliance to promote best practices in the field of mHealth and to help broaden the reach of modern healthcare technology to those that need it most.
In Masaka, I was guided through the health clinic by the local program manager, Hareuhana Diaedonne. During the tour, Hareuhana spoke at length about the simple but significant benefits that have been brought about by the introduction of mobile phones to the local healthcare system. Using TRACnet, he reported, data entry that used to take months to record and aggregate now can be collected in just 5 minutes.
Walking around the health centre, I was struck by how while the health facility itself is still rudimentary, the work of Hareuhana and others using mobile technology to promote healthcare is helping to land Masaka at the leading edge of the mHealth frontier.
---
Claire Thwaites is the Head of the United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership, which provides strategic and financial support to the use of mobile technology to improve health data collection and healthcare delivery in the developing world.
