Finding medical personnel is getting a little easier with new apps being developed across Africa. (Photo: The Guardian)
Health Care
One problem that plagues Africa is dependable health care. Locating nearby doctors or hospitals, diagnosing diseases and assessing the authenticity of medication is a real issue in Africa that isn’t really faced in other parts of the world. In Africa, proper diagnosis and timely access to reliable health care and medicine are literally life or death matters.
Too often, patients with medical issues go untreated or misdiagnosed. Other persons suffering maladies must travel great distances to the nearest doctors or hospitals while many frequently receive counterfeit medication with no way of assessing its authenticity.
However, today’s mobile technology is being leveraged to provide adequate health care to individuals in Africa. Several mobile applications have been developed to help address these issues. We’re going to talk about two in particular: Find-A-Med from Nigeria and MedFast from Kenya.
Find-A-Med is a location-based mobile application that allows users to find the closest health center. The app aims to make all health care facilities across Nigeria accessible and searchable from a mobile device. Users can store the basic health information in the app and dial it up in case of an emergency.
MedAfrica was launched by Kenyan developers, Shimba Technologies. According to the developers, MedAfrica essentially acts as a clinic in your pocket. The app can be used to diagnose and monitor symptoms caused by diseases. Additionally, the app provides the user with a directory of nearby doctors and hospitals as well as information on potential treatment for diseases. To add on to the features, the app can also be used to identify counterfeit medication and direct users to the nearest doctor or hospital.
Africa is constantly evolving and so is the health care and technology sector. Apps like these will provide increased visibility to local hospitals and health care facilities and ensure that patients receive proper viable medication. This will play a major role in reducing incidences of death, infant mortality and complications from prolonged unidentified diseases.
