As someone who has recently joined the ever evolving space of health and mobile, I have often found myself asking:
- Who are the participants in the mobile ecosystem?
- How does GSMA bring Mobile and Health together?
- What is the role of the GSMA in an environment where we have existing health and mobile players?
And most importantly:
- How are we having an effect on the greater population?
After working in this industry for a few months, I would like to share this knowledge, in the simplest form possible, with anyone who is interested in learning more about the value proposition of the GSMA Mobile for Development mHealth team.
The Mobile Ecosystem
To begin, it is vital to understand the different stakeholders who influence any mHealth service.
If we use the example of a mHealth service such as mobile messaging to pregnant women in rural areas who have remote access to doctors, we can highlight who the different stakeholders are, and the individual objectives of each stakeholder.
Stakeholders involved would be:
Mobile Network Operators
- Predominantly profit maximising entities who will only endorse the mHealth services (as part of its Value Added Services portfolio) if it is:
- Profitable
- Scalable
- Improves brand presence
- Aligns with CSR objectives
Government
- Deals with Regulation, Policy & laws related to the mHealth service.
- Benefactors of mHealth services, they will only endorse a service if it aligns with national objectives
Development Partners
- Will have large scale funding, for the Implementation of commercially viable mHealth services
- Funding will usually be given to an intermediary, who will then aim to accomplish the social objectives of the donor
Solution and Technology Providers
- These are stakeholders who develop content / applications.
- In this example, content will form the foundation of the SMS messaging sent to pregnant mothers via their mobile phones
It is easy to spot that each stakeholder has a different set of objectives and a different operating model. Some key stakeholders may not be profitable, thus limiting success in scale and operability. Therefore there is an innate need for an intermediary who is able to bring together all stakeholders in a way that is mutually beneficial for all participants in the mobile ecosystem.
Enter GSMA mHealth Team…
The GSMA mHealth team takes the role of the intermediary. Leveraging their position as a mobile association, they aim to bring together the mobile industry healthcare stakeholders to deliver sustainable mHealth solutions that extend the reach and quality of healthcare while reducing costs.
Working for the mHealth team, I have learnt that over and above bringing together stakeholders, the team is also aiding in re-defining previous hard limits on regulation and policy, which in the past have curbed the success of mHealth services.
Objective: Reach 1 million mothers in 10 countries in 3 years
The mHealth team is currently running its 10-country Pan African mHealth Initiative which is aligned to the UN’s Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 and 6 across Africa. The team has been funded to support the scale-up of mHealth in nutrition and maternal / child health through developing commercially sustainable mHealth services that meet public health needs.
The mHealth team was instrumental in facilitating the partnership between Mobile Operators in South Africa and Hello Doctor, which provides an alternative medical service to members of the population who cannot afford to go and see a doctor.
The mHealth team is aiming to facilitate these kinds of partnerships across all of these countries:
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Ghana
- Kenya
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Zambia
Taking it a step further at MWC 2014
If you are interested and feel that GSMA partnerships can benefit your organisation, we will be hosting a round table discussion at Mobile World Congress on the 25th of February. To find out more details please get in touch with me ([email protected]) or Edele Sheehan ( [email protected]).
For more information on the GSMA Mobile for Development mHealth, please contact us on [email protected]. For information on various mHealth initiatives, click here. For more information on GSMA mHealth resources, click here.