africa

Every year, millions of children die from illnesses that in the developed world we would never dream of dying from. These include pneumonia, diahrrea, malaria and dehydration.

Many of these deaths occur because the illnesses are mis-diagnosed and therefore mis-treated. There is a serious shortage of doctors and nurses in rural, resource-poor settings around the world; meaning many children do not get seen in the clinic, and often the ones that do, do not receive high-quality care because of the lack of time and resources.

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References / Past Projects

D-Tree is going to change the way healthcare is delivered in developing countries. We are dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare available to the world’s poor by using innovative technology to provide accurate and effective point-of-care diagnosis and treatment.

The goal of D-Tree is to significantly reduce the high rates of serious illness and premature death from preventable and treatable diseases worldwide. At the core of this approach is the development and use of treatment protocols for the most commonly diagnosed illnesses based on best field practices. The protocols will be programmed into inexpensive handheld computers for use by frontline health workers.

These devices will be augmented with a system of patient-held data cards with embedded computer chips that record individual medical information needed for diagnosis and treatment.

This system also allows health workers to collect information including type of visit, diagnosis, and prescribed treatment - information which can be stored in the device and later downloaded into a central database system to generate statistical data for evaluation, research, or surveillance.

Kubatana uses a variety of technologies to communicate with Zimbabweans - SMS is one of them. We send out notifications of public events, inspiring quotations, selected comments from current and past articles and statements and we convert some of our web site content into thought-provoking 160 character messages.

References / Past Projects

The Kubatana Trust of Zimbabwe, incorporating the NGO Network Alliance Project (NNAP), aims to strengthen the use of email and Internet strategies in Zimbabwean NGOs and civil society organisations. Kubatana makes human rights and civic education information accessible from a centralised, electronic source.

Our web site archives over 10,300 documents about Zimbabwean civil society. We have an electronic network of over 350 NGOs and CSOs. Each Kubatana partner has what we call a “fact sheet” in our online directory. Our project has given many NGOs an Internet presence without them having to spend resources on a fully-fledged web site. Our regular electronic activism campaigns encourage Zimbabweans and other visitors to our web site to mobilise, lobby and advocate. Being involved lessens one’s feeling of despair while helping us to keep inspired.

BioDesign has instructions on their website for building a solar charger for a mobile phone.

References / Past Projects

By showing people how to make simple small pv panels that they can use to power radios and charge rechargeable cells thus avoiding the need for expensive control devices as well as minimising the cost. Our efforts are aimed at helping the poor in developing countries, the many millions without any electricity.

The Voices of Africa project has "mobile reporters" use mobiles to tell stories from their respective countries. From the website:

Thanks to tremendous progress achieved by the General Packet Radio System (GPRS), the wireless communication protocol, it is now possible for Africans to send articles and images (still and moving) about events taking place in their countries without using a computer and without having traditional internet connection. Under those circumstances, the bigger the number of people expressing their opinions through that technology, the stronger becomes democracy, and the more valuable is the contribution to good governance efforts in Africa.

References / Past Projects

Africa Interactive is an online media company running and an international, interactive and multimedia platform, with a particular focus on Africa. The website www.africanews.com is one of our activities. Our Dutch website is www.afrikanieuws.nl

AfricaNews is the most compelling interactive Africa community, sharing news, photos, weblogs, videos, mobile reports and the untold stories by African people. With a focus on Business, Microfinance, Society, Culture, Travel, Nature, Music and Sport.

The aim of Africa Interactive is to inform each and every person having some interest in Africa about the multiple facets of that continent. We offer a podium to everyone willing to post his/her own stories on our website. Webloggers, writers, (citizen) journalists, photographers, filmmakers: every body is welcome.

From Pambuzuka News:

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References / Past Projects

Fahamu has a vision of the world where people organise to emancipate themselves from all forms of oppression, recognise their social responsibilities, respect each other’s differences, and realise their full potential.

Fahamu supports the struggle for human rights and social justice in Africa by:

• Supporting social justice advocacy through the innovative use of information and communication technologies
• Stimulating debate, discussion and analysis
• Distributing news and information
• Developing training materials and running distance-learning courses

Fahamu focuses primarily on Africa, although we work with others to support the global movement for human rights and social justice.

The word Fahamu means ‘understanding’ or ‘consciousness’ in Kiswahili.

Fahamu comprises a small core of highly skilled and experienced staff based in Oxford (UK), Cape Town (South Africa) and in Nairobi (Kenya). We also have a network of Associates located in Africa, UK and elsewhere. Fahamu also works with a wide range of international partners. Our work is also made possible through the commitment of volunteers and interns.

Fahamu’s work is made possible through generous support of funders and by individual donations

Plan recently partnered with Nokia as part of its Youth Media Program. According to the press release, Nokia and international children’s organisation, Plan, have joined forces to use modern communications technologies in Africa to raise children’s awareness of their rights and opportunities. Nokia has provided an initial donation of one million Euros for 2006. The first stage of this new joint effort will see Nokia focus on supporting Plan’s existing media and communications technology projects for Africa’s children and youth. Access to and use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) such as radio, the internet, mobile devices and television is a vital element in helping to tackle poverty and improve the respect, fulfilment and protection of children’s rights.

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Founded over 70 years ago, Plan is one of the oldest and largest international development agencies in the world. We work in 49 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Plan directly supports more than 1,500,000 children and their families, and indirectly supports an estimated further 9,000,000 people who live in communities that are working with Plan.

Plan is independent, with no religious, political or governmental affiliations.

Our vision

Plan’s vision is of a world in which all children realise their full potential in societies that respect people's rights and dignity.

Our mission

Plan works to achieve lasting improvements for children living in poverty in developing countries, through a process that unites people across cultures and adds meaning and value to their lives. Read our mission statement.