Notes from the eDevelopment Thematic Group event World Bank Day @ mHealth Summit – mHealth from policy to implementation.

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Part 1 : Global Policy Dialogue on mHealth

Welcome & Site introductions

Deepak Bhatia, Lead e-Government specialist, Global ICT, World Bank
Oleg Petrov, eDevelopment TG coordinator, Global ICT, World Bank
David Aylward, Executive Director of the mHealth Alliance

mHealth as catalyst for measurable health impacts

Especially World Bank mHealth projects are being looked at

There are a lot of opportunities for synergies

How can we work together more effective to deliver more efficient health care?

It’s extremely exciting, there’s a lot to be done – we have an important mission

Introduction of country offices – a lot of participants and discussions there

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Session 1: Opening & Keynote

• Introduction

Yaw Ansu, Human Development Director, Africa Region, World Bank

Africa is facing great challenges

mHealth and eHealth in general has great potential for the continent to help

We are working closely with a lot of partners in several projects

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Philippe Dongier, Sector Manager, Global ICT, World Bank

It’s not just about technology but also about other issues – about which we will discuss today as well

We didn’t see the boom in mobile phones coming, now we have a tremendous opportunity to reach people and do things differently – in many fields

The future of the internet is mobile or wireless – as well in the health sector

Challenges are about regulations – telecom operators and about the business model

What’s the role of developers, public sector, private sector, …

Where will the innovation come from? Actually from all the sectors

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• Opening Remarks

Rakesh Nangia, Operations Director, Human Development Network, World Bank

There will be challenges and innovations – we will only be limited by our creative thinking, not by technology

There are shocking statistics on health in developing countries

Mobile technology has already achieved quite some things – e.g. empowering women in Bangladesh

“Leapfrogging” is discussed often – maybe too often

We need to to think of how technology can bring healthcare to the people when the physical proximity is hard to overcome

Example: Uganda

• quiz to increase knowledge about HIV/AIDS
• increased testing of HIV of 40%

Example: South Africa

• only 5% of people get tested for HIV
• government sent out phone numbers of places where people can be tested

Example: Rwanda

• SMS to remind people to take their pills

Lots of interesting uses

Similarly – health workers are trained to look at epidemics

mHealth is an innovative way to get health care closer to the people

But it’s not about technology, as Phillipe already said

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Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Regional Vice-President, Africa Region, World Bank

In many ways we haven’t pushed the frontiers of technology yet

We have to realize the potentials of ICTs, we can’t just let that pass by us

We do well with tackling poverty if we focus of the asset of the poor

• they assume the ownership of a mobile as one of the biggest thing in their life
• we have to focus on that

Innovation can push us to look at solutions – which is reflected in this kind of summit the World Bank is hosting

Mobile phones are omnipresent in Africa – the mobile revolution, an important progress

seven years ago Nigeria had just about 250 000 fixed line phones

• which brought with itself various forms of corruption
• the regulations which came improved the whole situation
• the World Bank was involved in that, which is a great benefit
• now: 250 million mobile phones

Knowledge is power – telephones in Africa are not just a tool for communications

• it’s a social, political, knowledge tool
• we have the opportunity to use it a health delivery tool as well

Lack of access to health infrastructure prevent us from reaching our goals

ICTs presents us a lot of opportunities

The patient the primary focus, the results must focus on the patient

With only seven years left to the MDGs we need to be really bold and embrace new ways of getting things done – tradition can sometimes kill, we need to rethink our ways

It’s not just politics which is the answer to all problems, there’s also technology which can achieve things

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• Keynote Address

Dr Agnes Binagwaho, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health (via Videoconference from Kigali)

When we in Rwanda look at the agenda we are happy, because it focuses on the use of health in the development countries and countries facing the greatest health problems

We need to combine health with effective communication

Communication technologies have become effective tools to fight diseases

Technology is making health care more possible and more precise

Helahtcare is being turned into a ICT industry

Rwanda has adopted the use of technology in all sectors – health included

• technology in hospitals
• building manpower by education
• adopting national and international standards

Use of mobile phone is dependent on other indicators

• coverage 98%
• penetration 21%
• we try to increase the penetration

TRACNet – mobile phone & internet based tool which we use

• significantly improved the way AIDS is treated in Rwanda
• people are well monitored

Also more application – mobile based – are being developed

Rwanda: 45 000 community health workers all around the country, several projects to realize their potential – AIDS and maternal health

Trying to foster exchange between grass roots initiatives and hospitals

mHealth is an indispensable tool to deliver helathcare today and a key priority in Rwanda