TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Floods blamed as gov’t falls behind in set-top box roll-out

      24 June 2022

      Vumacam announces big Jo’burg expansion drive

      24 June 2022

      Eskom crisis spirals: stage-4 power cuts this weekend

      24 June 2022

      Illegal strike at Eskom could make load shedding worse

      24 June 2022

      State capture probe ends but South Africa remains ‘broken’ by corruption

      23 June 2022
    • World

      Amazon has a plan to make Alexa mimic anyone’s voice

      24 June 2022

      Apple, Android phones hacked by Italian spyware

      24 June 2022

      Zendesk nears buyout deal with private equity firms

      24 June 2022

      Crypto crash survivors could become ‘tomorrow’s Amazons’

      23 June 2022

      Tether to launch a stablecoin tied to the British pound

      22 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022

      Sheryl Sandberg’s ad empire leaves a complicated legacy

      2 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»In-depth»MTN, Samsung in big African m-health drive

    MTN, Samsung in big African m-health drive

    In-depth By Regardt van der Berg30 June 2014
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Dr Craig Friderichs
    Dr Craig Friderichs

    The GSM Association (GSMA), which represents many of the world’s mobile operators, has announced that its Mobile for Development mHealth programme is launching a series of partnerships to deliver mobile health services to women and children across sub-Saharan Africa.

    There will be a strong focus on nutrition as part of the programme, which is supported by South African mobile group MTN, device manufacturer Samsung and other companies.

    The GSMA’s mHealth initiative will provide a range of services accessible via an application on smartphones or using USSD on basic feature phones. This will give people access to credible content. For example, a mother could check if a particular medication is safe for her baby. The focus is on education, and there will be additional services available to health workers that give them access to diagnostics and other data.

    “We want to have a very big impact on the [United Nations’] millennium development goals four, five and six — our primary focus. We have a specific focus on maternal and child and nutrition health,” says GSMA director of health Dr Craig Friderichs.

    Millennium development goals four, five and six are about reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, and combating HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases.
    The initial launch partners for the sub-Saharan Africa GSMA initiative include MTN, Samsung, Omega Diagnostics, Gemalto and Mobenzi Mobilium.

    Friderichs says the programme could have a far-reaching impact in sub-Saharan Africa. According to GSMA research, the addressable market for the initiative includes 15,5m pregnant women and mothers with children under the age of five.

    Chief regulatory officer at the GSMA Tom Phillips says the companies involved are working to deliver the objectives of the UN’s “Every Woman Every Child” foundation and the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact in the areas of nutrition and maternal and child health.

    “Health content, patient registration, data collection and critical diagnostics will increase the access to health care for vulnerable women and children across Africa, while providing the delivery mechanism for m-health services that are commercially sustainable and scalable,” says Friderichs.

    The GSMA has already launched similar programmes in India and Indonesia. “We also have a partnership with the Norwegian and British governments. Our work there has allowed us to extend our programme into the sub-Saharan Africa region.”

    The first phase of the GSMA’s mHealth services involve South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia, all by September 2014. Phase two, which will begin next year, will address four more countries: Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.

    Friderichs says the initiative will reduce the barrier to entry to handset ownership and connectivity for consumers and health workers. MTN has agreed to provide free access to specific online health content, health registration and data collection. Samsung, meanwhile, has agreed to offer discounted handsets and tablets to consumers and health workers across Africa.

    This is a potentially a good move for Samsung, one that will get more of its devices into the hands of users in developing markets. But the Korean company doesn’t have exclusivity. Friderichs says the m-health programmes are “non-exclusive” and will be expanded to other network operators, handset manufacturers, content partners and medical device manufacturers.  — © 2014 NewsCentral Media

    Craig Friderichs Gemalto GSMA GSMA Association Mobenzi Mobilium MTN Omega Diagnostics Samsung Tom Phillips
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleSony’s Xperia Z2 Tablet reviewed
    Next Article Cape Town embraces open data

    Related Posts

    The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

    22 June 2022

    MTN to deploy 5G in more regions in South Africa

    21 June 2022

    Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

    19 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Watch | Telviva One: adapting to the requirements of business

    24 June 2022

    Huawei P50 now available for pre-order in South Africa

    23 June 2022

    Calabrio paves way for SA’s cloud contact centre WFO journey alongside AWS

    23 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.