On May 19 this year the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the Zika virus had been detected off the north west coast of Africa for the first time. Only four months earlier, Angola notified the WHO of an outbreak of yellow fever. The Ebola virus alone caused 3,100 deaths in Sierra Leone since 2013.
The socioeconomic impact of disease in African countries has led to sharp reductions in forecasted GDP growth and macroeconomic stability. In Sierra Leone the private sector lost 50 percent of its workforce to the Ebola disease; lost revenue is estimated to be $74 million, according to the World Bank.
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Satellites can be used to trial new digital services; provide critical infrastructure and support resilience and disaster recovery, allowing societies to get back on their feet rapidly. A recent Inmarsat-led initiative, with funding from the U.K. Space Agency’s International Partnership Space Program (IPSP), demonstrates the potential for satellites to deliver inclusive healthcare systems and aid growth in Africa.
Inmarsat is working with international partners in Nigeria to deliver maternal and child health services to 50 physically and technologically disconnected rural communities. BGAN Link Wi-Fi hubs have connected clinics in remote areas to provide access to digital health training content for use by local healthcare workers.
The Satellite Applications Catapult is collaborating with Cayetano Heredia University in northern Peru to improve mobile healthcare provision in remote Amazonia through enhanced connectivity using e-health and mobile health (m-health) solutions.
“Countries facing huge development challenges will only embrace the potential for satellite technology if we can convince them that not only has the cost of solutions dropped, but that it is possible to deliver a service that is relevant, flexible and effective. If we succeed, we will prove not only the potential of satellites to support rapid recovery but also to underpin many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” says Sam from the Catapult. VS
