USAID, Orange team-up over mHealth services in Africa

Orange

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and France’s Orange are working together to develop innovations in mHealth to help treat and care for individuals in developing countries across Africa.

The first phase of the initiative will leverage the expertise, technology and local resources of both organizations to improve quality of care and ensure that health services are readily accessible to the public at large. Niger and other countries are currently under exploration.

In the future, the services will use integrated mHealth platforms and Orange mobile networks to communicate alerts and share resources around family planning and maternal health. Healthcare workers will be able to use the technology to share medical expertise, collaborate with specialists regardless of location, and improve patient care. Additionally, the public will be able to access health information via the mHealth platforms.

For instance, a maternal mHealth solution will provide medical practitioners access to the tools and medical information that allow them to monitor a mother’s pregnancy from a distance. This in turn will enable medical professionals to flag potential problems early and provide the necessary care that reduces risks to mother and child.

Healthcare workers will be able to use the technology to share medical expertise, collaborate with specialists regardless of location, and improve patient care.“There is a tremendous amount of good that mobile technology and digital innovations can bring to improve the quality of healthcare to those less fortunate,” said Thierry Zylberberg, Director, Orange Healthcare. “Together with USAID, we are creating innovative mHealth platforms that open up the opportunities for remote patient monitoring or healthcare workers to make better-informed decisions and facilitate quality care for all citizens.”

The goal of the USAID/Orange alliance is to create a framework for easily replicating these mobile services in a number of African countries throughout the region. In West Africa, the two parties are starting to develop a regional platform with a menu of mobile apps that ministries of health, donors and NGOs could use for consumer education, health worker tools, mobile money, and data collection.

Orange has been at the forefront of realizing Africa’s digital transformation, connecting people, entrepreneurs, towns and cities. Its global footprint, with mobile and fixed networks in 20 countries in Africa and the Middle East, will provide seamless and reliable access to these services.