Myth 1: Poor countries are doomed to stay poor.
Myth 2: Foreign Aid is a big waste
In the first myth he addressed the notion pointing out how various nations or parts of countries have made great leaps from poverty to having good living standards through good developmental policies citing examples of countries like Malaysia, Botswana, Chile and the city Nairobi. In the report he points to how the percentage of children in school has gone from the low 40s to over 75 percent since 1970, which outlines as a key foundation block for any developmental work. An educated society is more likely to solve their own problems as well as have more sophisticated needs than the basic needs, which should drive further development.
He tries to debunk the second myth by outlining some really interesting figures that show enormous strides that have been made in solving some of the world’s health problems. An example is how Polio cases have decreased from 350 000 per year in 1988 to just 400 per year in 2013. How cool is that!
With such amazing groundwork laid out ICTDs can come in to build on to ensure better health for all. To this end I found an interesting ICTD health initiative that should also go along way in improving the health care access and delivery to people in Uganda. The social initiative is called The Medical Concierge Group.
The Medical Concierge Group
According to the team lead Eunice Namirembe; there is only one (1) doctor for every 250 000 people. This has seriously compromised access to health care and health information.
Medical Concierge hopes to connect communities with quality health care and health care information that they would have otherwise not been able to access easily. The name comes from the term ‘concierge medicine’ (also known as direct care) which is a relationship between a patient and a primary care physician
Essentially it will be a 24-hour ambulance center where patients can call in for assistance. The project uses the Google API dashboard and Google Maps to record patient information and track patient locations. By using these tools, the team is able to help connect more Ugandans to medical services at a faster rate therefore helping to save lives. The team seeks to leverage on the proliferation of mobile phones, in places such as rural areas where there is no Internet access. People in these communities can call in at any time for help that they may need and where necessary be connected to the nearest doctor and/or pharmacist.
The project is still very inchoate and has a lot of hurdles to overcome before they are able to fully meet their goals. A lot issues will need consideration such as trust, the ability of the caller to fully articulate the problem as well as the capabilities of the person taking the call. By providing health advice they are liable for regulation by the countries’ health laws and policies, which may not be well developed to deal with such health provision.
This innovative project has a lot of potential to change health access in the country and possibly other countries. Also, as more people use the service they should be able to collect large volumes of health information that can be used for various other purposes.
Links to article:
Link to Concierge Grouphttp://www.africaconnected.com/be-inspired/111063826940299061173-technology-en/