Newsflash

Call for Internet Governance Forum Core Team in West Africa

The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and other partners, with support from the Open Society Institute of West Africa (OSIWA) is launching the West Africa Internet Governance Forum

Details here
FOSS and Health Care
Opportunities and challenges in using ICTs to improve public health PDF Print
Written by Administrator   

Information and resources from organizations working on improving the role of technology in developing countries including Africa

Health Portals & Resource for Policymakers & International Development Agencies

  • AskSource ICT and Health is an online resource library with information on applications, projects, and ICT and health sector strategies. http://www.asksource.info/res_library/ict.htm

  • Virtual Health Library (Bireme.org) offers resources in English, Spanish, and Portuguese covering more than twenty countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. http://www.virtualhealthlibrary.org/php/index.php?lang=en

  • Scientists for Health and Research for Development (SHARED) provides a database of health projects projects, articles and scientists around the world.   http://www.sharingpoint.net/
  • Scielo Public Health is an online library of Spanish and Portuguese language health science articles. http://www.scielosp.org/

  • World Health Organization (WHO) Communicable Diseases Global Atlas includes resources on HIV/AIDS, Denque fever, pneumonia, and tuberculosis, among other diseases. http://www.who.int/GlobalAtlas/

  • Population Reference Bureau Health Resources provides links to articles, datasheets and reports by the global health development community. http://www.prb.org/

  • Population and Health infoShare is an online library supported by more than 100 partner organizations working in global health. http://www.phishare.org/

  • Reproductive Health Gateway, sponsored by USAID, includes links to online databases, directories, and portals in the area of reproductive health. http://www.rhgateway.org/

  • Converging ICTs for health in development
    Far from new technologies replacing the old, there is evidence of convergence, for example, online broadcasting.

  • ICT and health care delivery in developing countries
    Appropriate information and communication technologies can dramatically enhance the reach and effectiveness of health care.

  • Strategic thinking on ICT and health
    Strategic thinking about ICTs in health is developing as an extension of strategic thinking about ICTs in development. Donor support for ICTs in development is mainly documented in a number of key policy documents.  

  • ICTs for Development: Contributing to the Millennium Development Goals
    The Millennium Development Goals have set targets for development, and ICTs have a role to play.
  • Using ICTs for development
    Link to Source's Participatory communication key topic area for this list of key resources for building capacity in NGOs to use ICTs creatively and effectively.
  • United Nations Foundation & Vodafone Foundation joined together in 2005 to create an innovative Technology Partnership that is harnessing the power of mobile technologies to support UN humanitarian efforts worldwide. As a result of this partnership, both organizations have published the report "mHealth for Development: The opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World". The report profiles more than 50 projects on the use of mobile phones in healthcare. You may download the publication at the following link: http://www.unfoundation.org/global-issues/technology/mhealth-report.html.

Free Online Medical and Scientific Journals

Health and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

  • World Health Organization (WHO) Public Health Mapping and GIS Program offers resources on geographic information systems (GIS) and their use in epidemiological research http://www.who.int/health_mapping/en/

 

Evaluations & Case Studies on ICT and Health Projects

  • Testing the use of handheld computers for healthcare in Uganda, Ghana, and Kenya (Evaluation of the Satellife PDA Project conducted by bridges.org) http://www.bridges.org/satellife

  • Testing the Use of SMS Reminders in the Treatment of Tuberculosis (Evaluation conducted by bridges.org) http://www.bridges.org/publications/11

  • Impact and evaluation of ICTs in health
    The development of evaluation methodologies for ICTs in development and in health is a small field, but the area is receiving increased attention. There is a growing body of documentation about case studies and pilot projects.

ICT-based training for healthcare workers

Other Resources
 
Improving Health, Connecting People: The Role of ICT in the Health Sector in Developing Countries PDF Print
Written by Daniel Ihonvbere   

Improving Health, Connecting People: The Role of ICT in the Health Sector in Developing Countries

What do we know about the successes and challenges in using ICT as tools of disease prevention and health promotion in developing countries? What lessons and guidance can we draw from this experience? This study, commissioned by infoDev and led by three prominent organizations involved in ICT for health programs in developing countries, synthesizes the key lessons from an extensive "knowledge mapping" exercise of what is known about the contributions of ICT to health promotion and disease prevention. These knowledge maps can also be accessed at: http://www.asksource.info/res_library/ict.htm

You can download the Working Paper from infoDev from our download area.
 
FOSS & Health Care - The Project PDF Print
Written by Daniel Ihonvbere   

FOSS & Health Care - The Project

It is often assumed that the application of technology is neutral and that benefits of an ICT project accrue equitably to all individuals in a community. In most cases, however, there are some individuals or groups that have fewer prospects of benefiting from services offered. Women typically constitute a majority of these persons. The objective of this paper is to summarize the findings from an overview of the infoDev portfolio from a gender perspective and field studies of six selected infoDev projects.