This week and last we’ve been talking a lot about mobile health (mhealth) and how it impacts communities in developing African countries. As the mHealth Summit 2010 takes place in Washington DC, I can’t help wondering if this represents a lack of perspective on developing traditional health infrastructure. Mobile is hip, easy, quick, and exciting however how do we measure its success. A recent article on MobileActive.org  asks if mobile technologies are “really impacting the poor?” As we sit in our nice homes, co-working spaces, conferences and offices we must not forget accountability and scale. Many during the mHealth Summit 2010 have noted that success comes through capacity building with locally based organizations. This could not be more true. Community-based initiatives that seriously invest in people will succeed.

“The most effective forms of organization are based on partly autonomous and contextually rooted local units linked by connective structures, and coordinated by formal organizations.” (Tarrow, 137)

This week I’d like to share a video from Josh Nesbit (co-founder SMS:Medic) demonstrating the successes of FrontlineSMS: Medic in scaling its work and staying accountable to the communities they support through local capacity building.

(via HoboTraveler.com)

American Food Aid: Saving Lives, or US Jobs

Change.org takes on US food assistance and its implications for foreign countries. Most often US food aid has very negative and often damaging effects on local communities and economies.

Swaziland: Poor Health Services Hamper PMTCT Progress

While much progress has been made in reducing HIV transmission, many are worried that the lack of adequate health workers and centers will reverse the advances that Swaziland has made.

Who’s Tracking the World’s Biggest ARV Programme?

South Africa runs what is probably the world’s largest ARV programme – over 700,000 people are receiving ARVs at public sector facilities. The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) reports on the national program to fight HIV/AIDS. With good and bad news, the report demonstrates that there needs to be better implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

Cameroonians Arrested for Operating Illegal Hospital

The largest issue with this article was not that there was a hospital started by local Cameroonians, but instead that they were distributing unregistered and illegal Chinese medicines. Is this an example of the growing influences of Chinese investment and aid? The hospital registered and defrauded over 2,000 people.

Why Studying Human Migration Can Help Stop Malaria

You may often hear this argument when talking about the spread of Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and other STDs, but not often for malaria. One of Change.org’s authors gives a great history and background on the spread of malaria. The World Health Organization (WHO) has written since 1957 that population movement exacerbates the spread of malaria.

Uganda: HIV/AIDS Centers Turn Away New Patients

As a direct cause of the reduction in funding from US government agencies, centers that provide treatment and prevention have begun turning away patients because they have to make budgetting cuts.

Read more about the Obama Administration’s Global Health Initiative that is causing issues across Africa in regards to funding for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention.

Also on Health in Uganda:

• Public Irritated by Yet Another Condom Shortage
• Why Uganda Shouldn’t Criminalize HIV/AIDS Transmission
• Want to Help Uganda? Send Condoms 95% of condoms are supplied by foreign donors

In Mali, Using Cell Phones to Create Patient Records

New Echoing Green fellow Josh Nesbit and his organization FrontlineSMS:Medic have partnered with the Mali Health Organizing Project (MHOP) to streamline and clean up patient records to improve health services.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Troubled Water Aid Watch chronicles the issues with PlayPumps
• A Miner-Led Tuberculosis Crisis
• West Africa: 10 million face Hunger in Region
• Nigeria: Researchers seek ways to End Maternal Deaths
• Africa: Enticing Health Workers to the Outback