Java-enabled mobile phone usage is growing exponentially in emerging markets -- launching developing countries into the 21st century and saving lives.
The number of the world’s mobile subscribers from developing nations grew from 24 percent to 76 percent between 1998 and 2008, according to a report from eHealth-Connection.org.
Pretty impressive, when you consider that global cellphone usage has been estimated at 3.3 billion users.
At the leading edge of opportunity is the area of healthcare, defined as “the delivery of health-related services via mobile communications technology,” according to a report by VitalWave Consulting. “Health professionals operating in urban centers [in developing countries] now have access to reliable information via the Internet through landlines,” says VitalWave CEO Brooke Partridge. "This knowledge can be then disseminated via text- or SMS-based mHealth programs, such as answers to questions regarding HIV or disease consultations."
DataDyne.org, a not-for-profit consultancy that develops mobile data products for public health, has developed a product that fits this description. Its EpiSurveyor is a free, open-source software suite that enables data collection using handheld computers and smartphones. It has been designed and deployed most recently in sub-Saharan Africa.
Quick data analysis and medical consultation can save lives, especially in cases of epidemics, such as the outbreak of 60,000 cholera cases expected in Zimbabwe in the coming weeks, as reported December 7 by the BBC.
DataDyne co-founder Dr. Joel Selanikio describes the cumbersome data collection process that existed before EpiSurveyor was introduced: “Someone needed a computer with Internet access and a photocopier to print out 500 or 1,000 copies of data collection forms," he says. "Health workers then went out into the field to interview patients. Then the forms needed to be returned, so that manual data entry could take place. The whole process could take weeks. With EpiSurveyor, forms are designed on a local laptop, then downloaded to PDAs, which are used for data collection, reducing the process to about two weeks."
The company is taking the data collection process to the next level, with its beta launch of the wireless WebiSurveyor on January 1, 2009. The vendor says this product capitalizes on the explosive growth of Java-enabled cellphone usage in the developing world.
The WebiSurveyor Website will allow users to create forms online and then download them to mobile phones. They can then send data collected on those forms by email or by uploading to a server. Medical data analysis and consultation can thus be achieved in a matter of days.
Time saved = lives saved.
Similarly, in Mexico, Voxiva has rolled out a program called Vid@net that sends users SMS tips on living with HIV/AIDS, information on medications, and reminders for taking medications and for appointments. Over time, each patient builds a record of adherence to the directions, which can be looked at, analyzed, or shared with family, friends, and doctors. If a user ever becomes non-adherent, automated messages are sent to pre-designated “treatment buddies” who can then lend that person the social support needed to stay adherent.
Ironically, the short message service (SMS) approach is sometimes considered “Stone Age” tech by some users in more developed nations. But the lessons learned have the potential for a very wide reach. Unfortunately, the benefits of mobile texting can be overlooked in favor of the next hot Web application.
— Deborah Nason is a freelance writer based in Connecticut.
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Ghana has just completed a grueling three stage election. SMS implementations of election tracking software were used to accurately report the results in less than a quarter of the time that the official reporting body was able to report the results.
One of the systems used statistical sampling to poll about 1700 of 21000 polling stations and then projected the results. This statistical system accurate results within statistical margin of error.
The second system tried to report actual results from all 21000 polling stations in Ghana, but managed to report less than a third of that because of lack of funding and resources, as well as vision my leaders in the community.
An interesting addition to this experience is that consultants from the US had developed a system to collate the results, but had failed to factor in the fact that most places in the country had no Internet connectivity and where you have one the connection speed is so slow. They learnt that the system with the best connectivity in the country is mobile phone technology. Also their solution was not cost effective. It mean providing a laptop to every polling station and that had to compete against providing a phone (with SMS capability). Clearly the cost savings via SMS could not be beaten.
The lesson here is that there is a need for localizing solutions to IT problems, and using the most efficient technology (given the circumstances [old or not]) to provide the needed solution.
So, yes SMS may be the ICT experts best friend in emerging economies.
Being from a developing country, I can witness another way the old technology (SMS) is being used to support a very old sector- agriculture.
The agriculture departments & agri-businesses of Pakistan, India & Bangladesh are pushing SMS (in national & regional languages) with information like weather forecasts; reminders; water discharge data; prices of seeds, fertilizers & food commodities etc. This helps in spreading awareness, communicating the appropriate information timely to the right customer; & reducing asymmetry of information. Coverage, handset support, cost of communication, end-user profile, all favor SMS instead of MMS or GPRS.
Challenges in developing countries are different & so different solutions are required!
I think we would see improvements in the selling of goods.
SMS will provide another avenue for marketing.
Someone at an open market can announce what they have todayto their subscribers which can prove to be very beneficial for customers todecide whether or not the market has what they need for today.
It is wonderful to see the new value that can be generated fromtechnology such as SMS that are deemed simple by the general populace inindustrialized nations.
Many valid points were made in this article and thank youfor sharing with us the benefits of many of the services that you highlighted.
Wireless makes it possible to expand a communication networkover a large geographic area with less transaction costs of a wirednetwork.This is highly suitable fordeveloping nations who do not have many of the infrastructure needed to have awired network in place.
I think the delay is systemic. The industry has been very slow to adopt these new technologies. In the US, we are slow to adopt because of regulatory issues (HIPAA, et al.) but also because new needs to be tested.
I think now that the Technological Use barrier has been breached, more adaptations and adoptions will occur. The next step is to make it secure so the regulators don't have an aneurism. Then to make it robust so it doesn't become overwhelmed by mass adoption before the infrastructure is in place.
Then the last step is availablility. I guess that will be addressed when wireless is ubiquitous (not necessarily WI-FI but, as you have stated, cellphone as well).
wait. There is no punchline. But to your comment about SMS being stone-age technology... anyone who believes that hasn't looked into "twitter". Think about it conceptually.... it's just an SMS Blog.
So I guess the punchline is "and he said 'what's old is new again!'" '
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