MobileActive.org

The Vodafone Health Debate series is part of our continuing commitment to thought leadership in healthcare. It brings together senior pharma, public and private health stakeholders to learn, share and debate on issues and new thinking brought forward by renowned thought leaders and industry experts. Our aim is to provide some evidence- based stimulus that will encourage all those working in the different areas of healthcare to consider the innovation opportunities that are now available to them.

We believe that real progress can only be initiated when all stakeholders look beyond traditional horizons and share ideas that challenge the status quo so that together we can identify new ways of addressing current issues. Regulatory complexity, financial constraints, entrenched infrastructures and poor investment in technology combined with a lack of understanding by technology providers has meant that digital innovation in healthcare has been slow to take hold.

However, given changing healthcare needs of an increasingly aging population and the challenges presented by the current economic crisis, there is renewed interest in the potential of mHealth and Internet solutions to help reduce costs, increase efficiencies and effectiveness. This paper explores the practical reasons behind the slower than expected adoption of digital health technologies and discusses experiences from other sectors that could potentially help create wide scale adoption.

Recently the World Bank reported that 43 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is between the ages of 0 and 14. That African countries will likely face an increase in job creation pressure is an understatement. Put more simply by the New Vision in Uganda, we are essentially looking at a ticking time bomb. But it would be short-sighted to lump Africa’s youth as part of a growing problem. If anything, this young African generation is part of a new process that breaks down historical barriers and harnesses a new potential to drive solutions.

With every passing minute thousands upon thousands of young people gain access to mobile phones and the Internet. Imagine starting in primary school where you had to share a five year old text book with three other students to ten years later getting instant access to the worlds combined intelligence? These individuals are eager to connect, establish new contacts, exchange information and quite simply learn at a faster rate then ever before possible. Africa now represents the second fastest growing region for the worlds largest social utility Facebook, Asia being the first. Africa’s youth are addicted to information and they guarantee a frightening leap into the information age.