The mHealth opportunity in Sub-Sahara Africa: path towards practical application

 

 

Sub-Sahara Africa bears the highest disease burden in the world, nonetheless the economic and technological advancements in the region provide opportunities to develop and invest in mobile health solutions to improve basic access to health care. What are the requirements to move towards scale and to build sustainable business models?

              

Sub-Sahara Africa is forecasted to be the fasted growing region in the world and mobile technologies are evolving rapidly from simple communication tools into service delivery platforms. Positive GDP growth rates, improved network coverage, high SIM penetration and the increase in health applications and wearables are important drivers for mHealth. Integrating mobile technology in current health care strategies provides new ways of health care and has the potential to deliver healthcare to patients in the most remote areas. Despite all the opportunities provided by the mHealth solutions, challenges lie ahead as well, such as globally accepted guidelines, privacy issues and user acceptance.

The mHealth ecosystem

The mHealth ecosystem is a large and complex web of stakeholders that all need to provide their specific input to fully utilize the possibilities of mHealth services. An integrated approach and close cooperation is extremely important to move towards scale and sustainable solutions. The question is, though: who will take the leading role in bringing together all the different players. It is not only about conjoining different resources and expertise - it is about changing the business. Proactivity and innovative thinking are key to building a supporting environment for the strategic implementation of mHealth.

Our ambition with this article is to demonstrate to companies in developed economies, the value, opportunities and challenges of mHealth services in developing and emerging markets.

More information

Would you like to have more information about this topic, download the report “The mHealth opportunity in Sub-Sahara Africa” [http://bit.ly/1fIA2qr ] or contact Jean Diop +31(0)88 288 5883.