Dear GKD Members, We have discussed the important role that wireless technology can play in expanding access, so I thought you might be particularly interested in this project: New Use of Wireless Technology: A Giant Leap for Health Care in Uganda
Holly Ladd Satellife, Watertown, MA, USA Tel: (617) 926-9400 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.healthnet.org/index.php ********** 9/22/03 OTTAWA The launch of a nationwide, wireless network to improve Uganda's ability to treat patients and combat the spread of disease was announced today. The network is built around the countrys well-established cell phone network, inexpensive handheld computers, and innovative wireless servers called "Jacks." The technology allows health care workers to access and share critical information in remote facilities without fixed telephone lines or regular access to electricity. The announcement was made by Canadas International Development Research Centre (IDRC), WideRay, a wireless technology company based in San Francisco, and SATELLIFE, a non-profit organization focused on improving health in developing countries. The network was announced in occasion of the upcoming Emerging Technologies Conference to be held at MIT in Boston, September 24-25, 2003. The implementing partner in-country is Uganda Chartered HealthNet (UCH), started in 1986, as a project of the Makerere University Medical School in Mulago, to facilitate access to health information using information and communication technology. Affiliated with SATELLIFE, UCH has a mission to create access to health information and the tools for management in a resource poor environment such as Uganda. With technical, financial and material support from SATELLIFE, Makerere Faculty of Medicine, UCH has explored a range of communication options including LEO satellites, dial-up connection email/internet access, and now the hand-held/Wide Ray communication boxes. The WideRay Jack servers, which are about the size of a thick textbook and use long lasting industrial-grade batteries -- a single charge lasts up to a year -- are being installed in health care facilities across Uganda. Health workers can link to the device using the infrared port on their handheld computers to retrieve or submit information, and to access email. "This is going to be a giant leap forward for Ugandan health care. It could save thousands of lives and have significant benefits in health outcomes for Uganda's citizens," said Holly Ladd, Executive Director of SATELLIFE. This project will provide health practitioners in the field with tools that were previously unavailable or outdated. For example, users can now access the latest treatment guidelines for tuberculosis and malaria and learn of the most cost-effective approaches to fight HIV/AIDS, which infects one in 10 adults in Uganda. They can also read the latest medical journals and textbooks from around the world, in a digital form. The technology should also improve health care administration by reducing the time taken to submit, analyze and respond to reports and requests for supplies. Recognizing the potential of this technology for Uganda, Connectivity Africa, a Canadian government initiative managed by IDRC and funded from Canadas Fund for Africa, contributed $761,000 CAD to the development of this information network. "The convergence of new technologies low-cost handhelds, broad and reliable wireless coverage and WideRays innovative use of it have made applications that once seemed impossible in Africa a reality," said Richard Fuchs, Director of IDRCs Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) program area. "This project will be a powerful example to the rest of the world of what is possible with wireless technology." Canadas International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is one of the worlds leading institutions in the generation and application of new knowledge to meet the challenges of international development. For more than 30 years, IDRC has worked in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies. See backgrounder below for more information. Information: Diane Hardy, Media Relations Officer IDRC, Ottawa, Canada Cell (until Sept. 26 only): (613) 293-6588 Tel: (613) 236-6163, ext. 2570 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.idrc.ca Leslie Amadio WideRay Corporation, San Francisco, CA, USA Tel: (415) 975-3353 or 1-877-WIDERAY Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.wideray.com Holly Ladd Satellife, Watertown, MA, USA Tel: (617) 926-9400 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.healthnet.org/index.php BACKGROUNDER Uganda, like many developing countries that lack the infrastructure readily available in the developed world, is leapfrogging traditional fixed-line communication networks and adopting mobile, cellular technologies to provide communication links to remote locations. There are already three competing mobile-telephone service providers in the country, the largest of which is MTN Uganda. The same networks that are providing villages with their first voice connection to the outside world are being used to deliver data to where its needed most, to community health workers. Ugandas wireless health care initiative is an expansion of SATELLIFE trials with personal digital assistants (PDAs), or handheld computers, that began in 2001. The projects concluded that PDAs, which can be used in environments where computers are impractical, are powerful tools that can provide critical, timely information to African health workers. The PDAs were found to be especially useful in health administration, ordering and tracking medical supplies, and delivering new treatment guidelines. In scaling up the project to provide nationwide coverage for the health care initiative, a central wireless server was installed in Ugandas capital, Kampala. It is linked to computer systems at the Ministry of Health, and at HealthNet Uganda, a local SATELLIFE affiliate housed at Makerere University, also in Kampala. The server manages the entire network and communicates with "Jacks" in the field over commercial cellular phone networks (GSM). "Were rapidly approaching the point where GSM coverage is ubiquitous in Uganda and other parts of the developing world," said Erik Van Veen, General Manager of MTN Uganda. "WideRays architecture could benefit an enormous number of industries even outside of health care." The WideRay technology is self-contained -- it comes with industrial grade batteries that can hold their charge for up to a year and a "packet" radio that uses the same standard as the countrys cell-phone network. Each Jack stores content sent to it from the central computers in Kampala and, in turn, relays reports and emails received from the PDAs back to the capital. These features make the technology readily scalable to any size deemed necessary and reliable in remote locations, including those with no electricity or fixed telephone lines. "Many of the users of this system have never used a computer before, let alone had connectivity to this kind of information," explains Dr. Nelson Sewankambo, Dean of Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, one of the first locations to be brought live on the wireless system. "When they see how empowering this data can be at the point of care they are instantly hooked." Previously, handwritten reports and drug shipment requests took months just to reach Kampala, where it would typically be months longer before data was analyzed so as to be useful to administrators. Information can now be acted upon on the day after submission, and manual error has been dramatically reduced. "There are literally millions of points in the world where on-location wireless data services provide immense value, but the costly deployment of a broadband back-end and administrative resources is overkill, and in many cases, unworkable," said Saul Kato, WideRays CEO. "Our work in Uganda is a graphic illustration of this reality and a perfect example of the types of scalable, distributed systems that our technology enables for the first time." About Connectivity Africa at IDRC Connectivity Africa is an initiative of the Canadian government, announced at the 2002 G8 Summit in Kananaskis. Building on Canada's experience in connectivity projects in Africa, it will adapt Canadian expertise and models to the needs of African countries, particularly in the areas of economic development. Connectivity Africa is being implemented by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), in partnership with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and funded from Canadas Fund for Africa. About SATELLIFE Over the past 14 years, SATELLIFE has been a leader in developing solutions to the everyday information needs of health professionals working in communities where AIDS and malaria are commonplace, but medical journals and the Internet are an unaffordable luxury. Through innovative applications of information and communication technology, SATELLIFE breaks down barriers to information access. From major cities to remote villages, SATELLIFE extends the power of knowledge and the promise of better health. These efforts span the globe, with over 20,000 individuals in 120 countries sharing knowledge and building healthier communities. About WideRay WideRay enables the deployment of "proximity services" targeted, on-demand, on-location delivery of content, transactions, software, and services to end-user mobile devices. WideRay provides a single-box communications, application, and content server called a Service Point that supports instant ad-hoc connections with infrared, Bluetooth, and 802.11B equipped devices. WideRay's architecture drastically reduces the cost of local-area multiple location wireless deployments. WideRay's customers include TeliaSonera, GM, CES, CTIA, Sony, Palm, Microsoft, Insignia, and the San Francisco Giants. WideRay is privately held and located in San Francisco, California. About Uganda Chartered HealthNet Uganda Chartered HealthNet (UCH)was started in 1986, as a project of the Makerere University Medical School in Mulago, to facilitate access to health information using information and communication technology. Affiliated with SATELLIFE, UCH has a mission to create access to health information and the tools for management in a resource poor environment such as Uganda. ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
