Mobile phones, invaluable tool to improve health

Minister of Communication
Technology, Dr Omobola Johnson,
has said that the astounding pace
of growth of mobile phones makes
them an invaluable tool for
improving health outcomes in the
country.
Dr Johnson, who spoke at the 12th
Archives of Ibadan Medicine Inc.
Public Honours Lecture in Ibadan,
said adoption of modern day
technology such as Information
and Communication Technologies
(ICTs) can save lives in Africa.
She stated: “ICTs are a key part of
Saving One Million Lives; from the
development and implementation
of information systems amongst
healthcare providers and
administrators, to the use of
mobile phones in providing
information and health services
that improve the quality of life of
Nigerians.”
Dr Johnson, saying that there are
almost as many health service
related software applications
available today as there are
services in conventional hospitals,
added that ICTs can inform and
aid citizens to have healthy
lifestyles and reduce the incidences
of non communicable diseases.
“Software applications on mobile
phones, linked to bracelets that
monitor vital signs can now be
programmed to send alerts once
measurements exceed pre-set
figures,”she said.
Dr Johnson cited the Ondo State
Abiye Programme, an initiative
that gives a practical, inexpensive
interface between pregnant
mothers and infants up to age 5
with health centres or clinics near
them, as one that corroborated
that ICTs could be used in
improving the accessibility and
affordability of health care in
Nigeria.
According to her, “The Abiye
programme is regarded as a huge
success. By mid-2011, 15 months
into the programme, over 26,000
patients had been treated and
6,000 babies had been safely
delivered. These performance
figures are noteworthy for a State
that was ranked by the World Bank
in 2008 as having the highest
maternal mortality rate in South
West Nigeria.”
Dr Johnson mentioned
telemedicine as another
application of ICTs that is having
a far reaching impact on access to
and affordability of medical
expertise given that a physician
located far from a reference center
can consult his colleagues
remotely in order to solve a
difficult case.
Dr Johnson, however, declared that
several companies in the country
were already involved in bringing
remote diagnosis and case
management by using data
gathered through mobile phones
and “data collection centres”
manned with little more than a
tablet PC and a SIM cards to
support diagnosis and treatment.
Given the inadequacy of Nigeria’s
health care systems to deliver
health services, she said the
priorities of Ministry of
Communication Technology then
became connecting Nigeria and
Nigerians as well as developing
local content and E government
systems to ensure ICTs can be
used in health systems
improvement.
“What should also be evident is
that Nigeria is yet to fully tap into
the potential of ICT for health
systems improvement. We in the
Federal Ministry of Communication
Technology stand ready to support
the healthcare industry to fully
realise this potential to ensure that
Nigerians can be guaranteed
access to quality healthcare
regardless of their economic, social
or demographic status,”she
declared.