As it currently stands the mHealth (mobile phones for health) field is fairly fragmented. The term “thousand flowers bloom” is a commonly coined phrase at this point. This is a far leap from where we were not too long ago–Where conference goers and thought leaders in the mHealth community were advocating on the power of mobile technology as a global health solution. Since then, mHealth projects have cropped-up by the thousands, proving in several ways, that mobile is an innovative solution and can broaden the reach of healthcare to developing and rural communities. Now, the problem isn’t proving the value of mobiles, but how to create standards on the global level and work together to identify what’s working and what’s not.
The 2012 Social Good Summit focused a common theme—Utilizing social media for global collaboration to drive positive change. Following that same vein, the mHealth Alliance is organizing a workshop in Tanzania that will focus on mHealth evidence in the East African region. The driving purpose for this workshop is to bring together thought-leaders, representing the different sectors that make-up mHealth, to one table. What mHealth programs are currently happening in East Africa? What makes them successful? How can we build these programs up from the pilot stage? Who will pay for the programs to continue? How can the government change policy to incorporate mobile as a healthcare intervention? These are the questions that we aim to address in this workshop.
However, it doesn’t stop there. You don’t have to be in Tanzania to get involved in the workshop! In an effort to continue the “Global Conversation” the Alliance has created an online forum http://healthunbound.org/tws that will include video interviews from our workshop participants, blog updates from the workshop discussions, and resources recommendations on mHealth evidence. As the Community Manager for the mHealth Alliance, my job is to build collaboration for more and better for knowledge sharing. This workshop is a huge step in moving that needle and opening the discussion to the broader audience.