Mobile Phones to Fight Bird Flu and AIDS

October 21, 2006 – 1:48 pm

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2006 is perhaps the year of bird flu. In the first part of 2006, bird flu swept across many countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. On the other hand, AIDS is killing many people in Africa. The sad part is fighting diseases in poor regions of Asia and Africa is very difficult because of lack of communication facilities. The GSM Association (GSMA) and Voxiva, Inc. have come forward to help health workers in the poor countries to fight against diseases like bird flu and AIDS.

Voxiva has written in its press release:

Health workers in the field can use the mobile phone software to submit critical data to central health authorities in real-time. Using their handsets, they can report on outbreaks of disease, drug inventory levels, patient treatment status and other key health information directly in to Voxiva’s Health Management Information Systems (HMIS)*, allowing health officials to view, analyze and respond to vital data immediately. The system also supports two-way communications, allowing health workers in the field to receive quicker feedback on laboratory results, treatment guidelines or possible quarantine requirements.

The GSMA, the global trade association for mobile operators, and Voxiva are running pilot projects in Rwanda, which has a high incidence of HIV/AIDS, and in Indonesia where Avian Flu is a major threat.

If you live in a rich country, this news would not perhaps mean anything to you but in third world countries, it can save lives. The pilot project has already shown good promise and now it may be extended to countries like Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa. On the other hand, Indonesia suffered a lot from bird flu this year and there is still fear of a bird flu outbreak in the country anytime.

When there is a outbreak of a deadly disease in any poor society, getting and spreading information is perhaps the biggest challenge for health workers. So, this project will surely help to save many lives. In the poor countries, number of mobile phone is increasing much faster than land phones. So, using mobile phones to fight against AIDS and bird flu can really bring good results.

BBC

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