The Rise of Mobile Technology in the Global Development Sector

Andrew Gleason is Idealware's newest Research Intern, and recently graduated from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. with a B.A. in Spanish and Peace and Global Studies with aspirations to work in the international development sector. At Idealware he assists many projects, and is working on research regarding the use of mobile technology among global development organizations.

Recently I did some high level research on the use of mobile technology in the global development sector and found some interesting mobile tools that are currently being used across the globe. Not only do these tools assist staff in the field, but also improve health, education, government and economic services to people living in developing countries. The research is for a report you'll hear more about down the road, but for now, I wanted to share some preliminary findings.

Mobile healthcare initiatives are a rising trend. A noteworthy article from Mashable [4] explores four mobile campaigns that have aided the work of healthcare professionals in Africa: Praekelt Foundation [5], Health eVillages [6], mHealth Alliance [7] and Medic Mobile [8]. These campaigns have introduced mobile tools that allow healthcare workers to provide important services to developing communities. TxtAlert, a tool used to send SMS reminders for patients to take their medication, and Please Call Me, a tool allowing patients to connect with their doctors even if they are out of airtime minutes on their mobile device, have had a tremendous impact on patient-doctor communication within the developing world.

Some of these tools are able to collect medical data, provide virtual healthcare and aid in diagnosis. This mobile technology not only increases the number of patients healthcare workers are able to treat, but also increases doctors’ efficiency in the field. There are numerous small and large-scale pilot projects being implemented in developing countries (SatelLife [9], DataDyne [10], Cell-Life [11]), but what are global development organizations doing here in the U.S.?

In the coming weeks Idealware will be exploring how U.S. based global development organizations are using mobile tools, specifically for fundraising and marketing. We will be taking a case-study approach and interviewing various organizations. We are excited to start this project and share valuable information with the nonprofit sector!

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