Lesotho, a high-altitude, landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa wherein an estimated 23% of the population is HIV positive, has been the target of The Vodafone Foundation. The said organization has recently announced a mobile-based HIV program, where many of whom live in extreme poverty in remote rural communities separated by mountainous terrain with minimal infrastructure. The foundation's program has been reportedly combining Vodafone's M-Pesa mobile money service with mobile health clinics traveling around the region and a smartphone app that has been specifically designed for healthcare professionals that reportedly enables the tracking of patients in remote areas to be much easier and accessible. It was found that M-Pesa mobile money service by Vodafone is what health experts across sub-Saharan Africa have been using all these times.
The Solution For HIV Depletion Found In Mobile Technology?
According to reports revealed by The Guardian, the said foundation has been found to work hand-in-hand with the Lesotho Ministry of Health. Authorities from the said health program had also explained that a patient's information are simultaneously recorded on a central database so that future treatment and care can be planned, recorded and accessed in the field by healthcare workers using an app produced by the company's charitable arm, the Vodafone Foundation, and Vodacom Lesotho.
Furthermore, as per Biz Community, the Vodafone Foundation has specifically designed the program for pregnant women, mothers and young children who are among the most vulnerable groups in Lesotho society, since they have the lesser capability in spending many hours of walking to the nearest HIV clinic. Ultimately, it was found that the said health care programme will be fully funded by the Lesotho government from mid-2017. Accordingly, health experts has revealed that this is to be expected to be fully implemented by a full roll-out across the other Lesotho districts, transforming the life prospects for vulnerable people in hundreds of remote villages across the country. In one of his statements, Vodafone Foundation director Andrew Dunnett has also described HIV as an immense healthcare crisis for the people of Lesotho, thus, making the said programme beneficial and significant for the people.
