Smartphones to Save Lives in Africa

French Translation of the Week

Faced with weak health systems, new technologies have become an alternative to train African doctors and allow them to interact with isolated patients living in rural areas. From the internet to mobile phones, e-health - the integration of information technology and communication (ICT) in the health sector - brings hope for medical progress of the continent.

"Face à des systèmes de santé défaillants, les nouvelles technologies sont  devenues une alternative pour former les médecins africains et leur permettre  d'interagir avec les patients isolés des zones rurales. D'internet à la  téléphonie mobile, l'e-santé, qui désigne l'intégration des technologies de  l'information et de la communication (TIC) au secteur de la santé, est porteuse  d'espoir pour les progrès médicaux du continent."
This article has been translated from French. Click here to read the original version on Jeune Afrique.

Ten years ago, at the Bamako's hospital, the little Fanta had no fear when she saw her Swiss doctor smiling at her through a computer screen. A few weeks earlier, the young Malian, who suffers from hydrocephalus, had entrusted her life to the neurosurgeon in Geneva before returning to her homeland. Subsequently, the Malian and Swiss medical teams took care of her for several years, one physically, the other one virtually, 4000 miles away. "Fanta is the mascot of telemedicine in Mali," says Dr. Ousmane Ly, Director of the National Agency for telehealth in the country.

"Telemedicine", "e-health", "cyberHealth", these are various words used to describe medical practices using new technologies of information and communication technologies (ICT). Since the 2000s, many practitioners in Mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Senegal have recognized the importance of digital means in the development of their health system. By interacting with their European, American or Canadian counterparts, they have transformed the internet into a training tool which helps them for virtual consultations, distance learning and the tracking of patients.

Today, a different medium is used by e-health. "We will soon be able to dispense with the computer since the Internet is now on our mobile phones," said Line Kleinbreil, Vice President of Worldwide Francophone Digital University (UNFM), involved in telemedicine projects from France in partnership with the Network in Francophone Africa for Telemedicine (RAFT). Thanks to extensive network coverage in rural areas, the doctor is now in the patient's pocket. "Smartphones will become mediums for telemedicine," says Dr. Ousmane Ly.

Timely Medical Information

In a continent where the rate of infant and maternal mortality is very high, given difficult access to medical care, mobile health appears to be an alternative way to improve health in the continent. While the epidemic prevention system SMS is already in place in many countries, the proliferation of applications can disseminate health information in real time. Operating in Zambia and Malawi, the 'Mwana' application allows to speed up the delivery of outcomes for HIV-positive babies, through text messages.

With mobile phones, isolated rural populations have greater access to information as they no longer need to go to the nearest urban medical center or to connect to an internet cafe for advice. Through the 'Motech', pregnant women in Ghana can receive information about the different stages of their pregnancy. In Kenya, sick people can directly understand their symptoms through the 'Medafrica' application, or attempt to control epidemics through 'EpiSurveyor'.

Meanwhile, major international organizations have recognized that the mobile phone would become the new holder of cyberHealth. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union, wants to launch a program that will help them fight diseases such as diabetes through mobile phones. Some skin infections could soon be diagnosed by sending a photograph of the wound by MMS.

From September 12 to 15, e-health professionals will gather in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, in order to do an introspection of the past ten years of intervention. Faced by the technological progress related to health, such as LifeWatch V, the first mobile phone capable of measuring body temperature, blood pressure and the rate of glucose in the blood, doctors from all continents will be able to discuss the priorities that will have to be faced in the next decade. For Doctor Ousmane Ly, the internet mutation from laptop to mobile is a carrier of hope for the continent. "Africa will surprise through mobile telephony", he says. And maybe give ideas to its Northern counterparts.

Article translated by Germaine Touna Mama, Scholar Intern for the African Program at the Wilson Center.

Photo Attributed to Internews Europe on Flickr Commons