Medical Education in Africa

A major part of health care in other countries involves educating the native people about medical options and proper personal care. In addition to increased medical technology being used in the hospitals and health care facilities, technology is being utilized to educate people and to communicate about health care more effectively to the native people. This blog entry will focus on Africa in particular and the technology used in educating people about health care throughout the continent. In future blog entries, I will focus on the technology used to educate people about health care in other areas of the world so that a clear comparison can be made between various nations around the globe.

In a recent article featured in the Sunday Independent, a daily Nigerian newspaper, the use of 3G technology by Qualcomm is featured as being used for health care education throughout Africa. In the article by Emma Okonji, the project to use 3G coverage to assist in the distribution and monitoring of antiretroviral drugs for AIDS, which is prevalent in Africa, is discussed. Qualcomm began the project as a result of the current system used to monitor the use and circulation of antiretroviral drugs, as a steady supply of the drugs is essential for the survival of those needing the therapy. Prior to this initiative, manual record-keeping was used to keep track of the drug therapies utilized, and this system uses valuable time that could be spent helping to care for patients. In order to help reduce the time spent keeping manual records, Qualcomm is working to provide the centers for antiretroviral treatments with computers and wireless broadband connectivity. In addition to providing technology to these centers, Qualcomm is working to educate the people of Africa on how to use the equipment for improve efficiency. It is crucial for them to educate the native people on how to best make use of the equipment so that the initiative will actually help to improve quality of health care of those with AIDS in the long term. Since the project was piloted in 2005, it has grown to a global initiative to improve health care and communication throughout the world and could spread to help monitor the use of all pharmaceutical drugs in Africa and other nations around the globe. In the event that you would like to read more about this particular initiative, the article can be found by following this link:

In another widespread effort to improve the health care and education related to health care in Africa was initiated by GE. Their $20 million project, started in 2004, donated millions of dollars worth of equipment to the Korie Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana, where doctors from all of Africa are trained before spreading throughout the continent to provide health care in some of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. This hospital was chosen because it is a teaching hospital that covers most of Africa and would therefore be able to have far-reaching effects throughout the continent. Among the many donations made to the hospital were: portable ultrasound machines, x-rays, anesthesiology equipment, and monitors. Also, being the major electricity company that it is, GE was able to provide power generation and refrigeration equipment to the hospital. While GE did not work to educate people directly through their initiative, they provided equipment to a major teaching hospital in Ghana to help educate doctors who serve throughout Africa in order to better the quality of health care. The technology used throughout Africa in medical facilities was improved because of the use of the technology donated in teaching hospitals like the one in Ghana. Education of the continent’s doctors has allowed for the spread of medical technology throughout Ghana and the other nations of Africa, and has improved the quality of health care throughout the continent.

Another example of the spread of technology and education in Africa with regards to medicine is related to the use of mobile telecommunications to help alleviate Africa’s healthcare challenges. In an article featured in a magazine called, This is Africa, mobile telecommunication technology is discussed in relation to its influence on medicine in sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to the beginning of many initiatives to improve health care in Africa in recent years, over 50% of the population didn’t have regular access to a modern healthcare facility. The mobile telecommunications initiative focuses on the ability of mobile technology to bridge geographical gaps that are created in Africa. The projects spotlight the ability of mobile telecommunications to help with patient monitoring, disease tracking, education and awareness, and healthcare worker training. At the present time, this initiative is in progress, and nothing has been proven effective. However, it seems intuitive that the initiative will help to educate people about proper healthcare and will help to allow those living in sub-Saharan Africa to have access to better medical care and technology. The article discussing the mobile telecommunications technology initiative can be found by following this link:

Education is a major factor in improving the health care and use of medical technology throughout Africa, and the several initiatives currently taking place are helping to educate both healthcare professionals as well as patients themselves in order to improve the quality of healthcare available. In the next blog entry, I will delve into medical technology and education related to health care in another area of the world so that a clear comparison can be made between Africa and other areas of the globe.