Excited for the future of mHealth in Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda and Uganda
I have recently started engagement with the Ministries of Health in my four countries (Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda and Uganda) in order to understand their priorities and the various ways in which the GSMA mHealth programme can best support further development in the nutrition space.

Is there an opportunity for scaling nutrition with the support of mobile?
There is only one answer (in my mind)…..YES. I am however aware that the road will not be smooth and that many challenges will need to be overcome before I announce ‘my’ first launch.

Nutrition is a priority in the three countries visited to date and we were welcomed with open arms. I had the honour of meeting the Deputy Minister of Health (MoH) in Mozambique, Mouzinho Saide. With the support of UNICEF’s Sean Blaschke, I have managed to meet the incredible Director of ICT, Dr Edi Sesemga and his right hand man Andrew. And with the support of my MBA colleague, Mazuba Kaunda, I have managed to meet the MoH ICT Director in Zambia, Andrew Kashoka and the Senior ICT Officer Richard Tumeo. They are all great men, with good knowledge of ICT and an incredible understanding of opportunities in the ICT space. But knowledge is unfortunately not enough. Supply is another challenge that the MoH and other Ministries will need to contemplate if they are to move ahead with digital empowerment.

If, however, we accept the environment as it is, is there an opportunity for further development in the mobile space for health? The Uganda MoH is, together with UNICEF, already involved in a great mHealth initiative that has the opportunity for additional growth throughout the country, with community healthcare workers (CHW). Zambia and Mozambique, on the other hand, have a less developed ICT strategy but a very strong stance on moving ahead to reduce fragmentation and increase the potential for scale and sustainability.
Next steps for the GSMA mHealth team will be to meet with the Ministries of Health and brainstorm ways to take mHealth forward, in partnership with the private sector. With mHealth Country Feasibility Reports for Zambia and Mozambique already in place, we held our first workshop in Zambia on the 1st of April. Due to the complexities in the nutrition space we decided to hold a nutrition-themed morning session and mobile-themed afternoon session. The next workshop will be Mozambique. mHealth Country Feasibility Reports for Uganda and Rwanda are planned to be published in July.

Until then, I will be updating you on my country visits with brief blogs. A report from Zambia will be next.  And if you would like more information, please do send me an email. I am looking forward to all this work and activity – I hope the same goes for you.

For more information on GSMA Mobile for Development mHealth, please see here or contact us on [email protected].