Reducing Health Disparities in Africa and Around the World

The Global Telehealth Network (GTN), IEEE Smart Village (ISV), Healthcare Alliance for an Equitable World (HAEW) and Rotarians in multiple countries are collaborating to improve access to healthcare in medically underserved areas and to improve education and economic development in rural communities.

Our initial pilot programs in East Africa are addressing health disparities and will

• Improve maternal and child health services and control of communicable diseases such as HIV, HPV, TB and malaria

• Help to diagnose, treat and prevent non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, cervical cancer, breast cancer, etc.

• Assist and amplify efforts in health promotion and disease prevention

Our long-term objectives are to reduce health disparities and inequities and to advance progress toward many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to reduce or eliminate poverty throughout the world.

THE PROBLEM

Most countries in Africa have inadequate numbers of health workers to meet the needs of their populations, especially in remote rural areas, where most care is provided by nurses who have minimal support from physicians. Outside major cities, there’s little access to consultations by medical or surgical specialists.

Shortages are especially severe in maternal and child health, non-communicable diseases and mental health services.

40% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa live in extreme poverty. We believe that the most promising solutions lie in system thinking that combines access to quality healthcare services with programs to address the social, economic and environmental determinants of health, including food and water security.

THE PLAN

The nonprofit Global Telehealth Network (GTN) was founded on the belief that no one should be denied access to healthcare because of their location, social status or ability to pay.

GTN recruits volunteer physicians and psychologists who offer free, real time, online video consultations for health workers in underserved areas when they encounter patients with complicated health problems. Physician volunteers with Healthcare Alliance for an Equitable World provide initial online evaluation and triage, with referral to specialists when needed.

GTN is helping to develop telehealth networks in each country, so their doctors can provide consultations and supervision for nurses in remote areas. Those doctors can also obtain consults for their own patients from specialists in their regional and national medical centers. Meanwhile, GTN’s international panel of professional volunteers offer free consultations when there is no physician in-country who has both the necessary expertise and availability at the time of need.

IEEE Smart Village (ISV) provides seed funding and training for local entrepreneurs whose for-profit social enterprises can develop solar power installations to provide clean, sustainable electricity. ISV can also establish broadband Internet access for hospitals, clinics, schools and villages, and has done so for many of the pilot sites in Kenya and Uganda. This availability of electric power and Internet connectivity allows access not only to telehealth services, but also to resources for education and economic development.

OUR APPROACH

Our interventions are anchored on a Community-led Development model that puts communities at the front and center of the design, implementation and evaluation of our programs. We work with community and government leaders, entrepreneurs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that can assist communities in assessing their needs, then customize and implement solutions to meet those needs.

Our 11 pilot programs in Kenya and Uganda involve three hospitals, six rural health centres and two school clinics. Each site is unique, and outcomes analyses will inform development of models that can be adapted for many additional facilities across Sub-Saharan Africa and around the world.

Our initial efforts will benefit over 100,000 people, and as the programs scale across Africa and other continents, they will impact the lives of millions.

Installations at schools will provide access both to telehealth and to a vast array of online resources for K-12 education, as well as programs for adult education and vocational training.                

COLLABORATIONS & SCALING

To implement the pilot programs at these 11 sites, GTN, ISV and HAEW are collaborating with

• Movement for Community-led Development

• Child Health & AIDS Prevention (CHAP)

• Rotary Club of Los Altos, California

• Rotary Club of Cupertino, California

• Rotary E-Club of Silicon Valley Smart Village

• Rotary Club of Milimani (Nairobi), Kenya

• Rotary Club of Busia, Kenya

• Rotary Club Kololo-Kampala, Uganda

• Rotary Club of Mengo (Kampala), Uganda

• Other Rotary Clubs and many other organizations

We plan to scale these efforts through additional programs in Kenya, Uganda, Liberia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Philippines, Nepal, Vietnam, Guatemala, Galapagos Islands, underserved areas of the U.S. (including urban free clinics and rural tribal lands), and eventually in other countries. We will also offer services to refugee settlements, disaster areas and conflict zones.