Brookings Institute Center for Technology Innovation Examines CliniPAK to improve MCH and Emerging Diseases

Mobile is a rapidly growing area. According to a Boston Consulting Group report, this industry has created 11 million jobs and generated $3.3 trillion in global revenues.1 The utilization of smart phones, tablets, and 3G and 4G networks has transformed communications, commerce, entertainment and other business sectors.

Wireless technology is altering the manner in which health care is delivered, the patient experience, and the cost of health care. Mobile devices and mobile health (mHealth) services help with maternal care, chronic disease management, and disease epidemics. They improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the medical system through patient tracking and reporting, and they extend critically needed health services to underserved areas.

The virtues of mobile are especially apparent in emerging countries. In many places around the world, there has been an explosion of mobile apps, remote monitoring devices, and online instructional materials. This has brought new information to health workers such as midwives who are on the frontlines of care and aiding rural populations who need medical treatment and advice.

In this report, Darrell West, Vice President and Director of Governance Studies and Founding Director of the Center for technology Innovation at Brookings, examines mHealth applications in Africa. In particular, he focuses on Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone and takes a brief look at other innovations occurring in the North African country of Morocco. He look at how mobile technologies have improved maternal health care and helped deal with disease outbreaks.

Read the full report here.