PEPFAR expands efforts to improve health services worldwide through use of mobile devices

Nov 4 2009

Fierce Mobile reports on the recent announcement that PEPFAR is teaming up with the United Nations Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Vodafone Foundation to be a founding member of the mHealth Alliance, "a group seeking to bring health services to the most remote corners of the globe using mobile networks and technologies." U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby announced the partnership during a keynote address last week at the inaugural mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C., according to the news service (Versel, 11/3).

"In Africa and around the world, the increasing ubiquity of mobile devices presents an important opportunity to deliver efficiently and rapidly a suite of HIV/AIDS health services, from education and awareness to remote data collection and monitoring, communication and training for health care workers, disease tracking and diagnostic treatment and support," Goosby said in a press release. "Our collaboration will leverage the tremendous potential of wireless devices and networks to strengthen prevention and health care, improving patient outcomes," he added.

According to the press release, PEPFAR's support of the alliance will "strengthen country HIV/AIDS programs by introducing mobile technology-enhanced solutions in select host countries, and sharing best practices, including the experiences of the PEPFAR's Phones for Health public-private partnership" (10/31).  

Phones for Health aims to "make timely, relevant information available to program managers and service providers, while also helping PEPFAR achieve its ambitious goals - to support treatment for 2 million HIV-infected people, support prevention of 7 million new infections, and support care for 10 million people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in an accountable and sustainable way, according to PEPFAR's site," mobihealthnews reports (Dolan, 11/3).