Alcatel Lucent to champion mHealth in Ghana
A stakeholders’ workshop towards the enhancement of mHealth in Ghana has been held in Accra by Alcatel Lucent, a global telecommunication’s equipment provider, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications.
Advertisement
The workshop brought together key stakeholders in the health sector, as well as officials from the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) to discuss how Alcatel Lucent can provide infrastructure to support mHealth in Ghana.
mHealth is an abbreviation for mobile health which involves the delivery of healthcare information and services via mobile devices.
The term is most commonly used in reference to using mobile communication devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers for health services and information.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, the Director General of NITA, Mr William Tevie, said mHealth was part of government’s e-projects which sought to build networks for the public sector.
According to him, the mHealth project will provide simple tips on health-related issues, help people know the signs and symptoms of common sicknesses, as well as seek medical advice via the mobile phone.
This means that people do not have to wait for their ailments to get serious before accessing medical care, something he said would reduce physical dependence on hospitals for common ailments.
Speaking in an interview with the Graphic Business after the workshop, the Head of Sales, Strategic Industries Africa, Alcatel Lucent South Africa, Mr Steffen Lange, noted that the company had been providing infrastructure for the Ministry of Communication’s e-government project, stressing that it targeted to be relevant as far as Ghana’s quest to adopt and enhance mHealth was concerned.
Other Trending Stories
“We want to be relevant in mHealth also, providing infrastructure and giving ideas to relevant people in the ministry to unify platforms and use the application under different programs to work together to achieve this,” he said.
mHealth in Ghana
The International Director, Global Government and Public Affairs of Alcatel Lucent, Ms Florence Gaudry-Perkins, said there were currently ongoing mHealth projects in Ghana.
According to her, mobile access is becoming ubiquitous, and coupled with the fact that Ghana has Africa’s highest mobile broadband, it can use it to expand mHealth in Ghana.
She also urged the government to embrace constructive policy agenda for mHealth and take steps to adopt the concept of mHealth as an effective way to improving access to and affordability of healthcare.