Fiji to use mobile phones to detect communicable diseases
14 September 2010
WHO/M. Henry
The Fiji Broadcasting Corporation reports that the Fiji Ministry of Health received mobile phones from WHO as part of a new programme called Mobile-Health. The objective is to speed up notification of outbreak-prone diseases of potential public health concern. Nurses and doctors in certain surveillance sites can report cases using text messages. Once the data reach a server, the national surveillance coordinator will be able to analyze them and take any appropriate action. Mobile technologies can be useful tools in improving health information. Fiji is a frontline country for health information systems standards. HMN will be sending a delegation to the mHealth summit in Washington D.C. in November.