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Telemedicine
Initiative |
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Pilot Projects Proposed
For Telemedicine Initiative In Sub-Saharan Africa
Other Topics:
Medical Informatics Disease Management,
Chemical Database
March 22, 2007
Satellite solutions delivering information and communication
technologies can help improve health in sub-Saharan Africa; this
was the main conclusion of a dedicated telemedicine task force
which met recently in Botswana. To make these solutions a
reality, some short-term, concrete actions have been suggested
in a pilot projects proposal.
Three activities are proposed: one focussing on the health
workforce (scaling-up numbers, improving performance, increasing
quality); a second on clinical services (increasing health
service coverage, reaching isolated areas) and a third aimed at
strengthening the intelligence gathering capacity of health
systems and their ability to use information for decision
making. |
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These
demonstration projects will be used to inform and to help
develop a framework for extending eHealth, which should be
considered as part of the European Union Strategy for Africa
commitment to utilise Information and Communication Technologies
(ICT) to enhance interconnectivity in Africa. The potential of
this greater interconnectivity, which will be supported under
the tenth European Development Fund (EDF), to extend the reach
of health and health services will be tested and demonstrated
through these proposed projects.
Held in Gaborone, Botswana on 1 March 2007, it was the third
meeting of the Telemedicine Task Force, which is composed of the
main relevant African organisations, the World Health
Organization, the European Commission and the European Space
Agency. It was set up after a workshop held in Brussels in
January 2006 that highlighted the potential of satellite
telecommunication technology to support health systems in
Africa. One of the key tasks of its mandate was to develop a
complete picture of telemedicine opportunities in the
sub-Saharan region and to formulate recommendations for future
action.
In a report the Telemedicine Task Force stresses that among the
world's regions, sub-Saharan Africa, with its 47 countries and
750 million inhabitants (2005 figures), is the one with the
highest burden of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, and malaria. The average life expectancy at birth
in sub-Saharan Africa was 46 in 2004. Health service coverage is
low, as for example figures for immunisation coverage and the
numbers of births attended by skilled personnel show. The region
faces a serious health workforce crisis, due to the migration of
doctors and nurses to more developed countries, and also due to
the death of skilled personnel from disease.
The Telemedicine Task Force has since reviewed the health
policies and strategies for African development of the New
Partnership for Africa's Development, of the World Health
Organization and of the European Union. The strategies recognise
ICT as an important enabler for progress towards these goals in
the African region. The review revealed however, that overall
ICT penetration in most African countries is low. For, example,
despite the rapid growth of mobile phone subscribers in the last
few years, the total penetration rate for the sub-Saharan
region, excluding South Africa, was as low as three subscribers
per 100 inhabitants for a population coverage of 48% in 2003 [ITU
2004]. Availability of computers and in particular Internet
access was extremely low. Africa remains the most
disenfranchised region in the world as regards Internet access.
However, by complementing terrestrial infrastructure with
satellite communications, complete coverage of the sub-Saharan
region can be achieved, according to the Telemedicine Task
Force. The proposed pilot projects should concretely demonstrate
the feasibility of this approach.
In the long-term, a programmatic framework should outline
actions in the step-wise development of sustainable eHealth
infrastructure and services, based on the open standards and the
needs of African countries in the priority areas approved by the
World Health Organisation Executive Board in January 2006. These
plans, short-term and long term should help bring the power of
information and communication technologies to bear positively on
health sector challenges in sub-Saharan Africa and thereby
ensure improved health for its citizens. |
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