Mobile Services & Technologies

Over the last decade, expansion of cell phone service has been nothing less than revolutionary in even the poorest nations. In 2008, it was expected that the number of mobile phone users would overtake the number of non-users that year for the first time. Ownership rates in developing countries are rising the fastest. In Sub-Saharan Africa, usage is growing close to 50 percent annually, and about 45 percent of villages were covered by a mobile phone signal in 2006. Many countries will have universal coverage by the end of the decade.

The rapid escalation in both cell phone coverage areas and cell phone users in developing countries has created a unique opportunity to improve a wide range of applications and services that contribute to reducing disparities in poor communities. Focusing initially on health, the Blum Center seeks to respond to this opportunity by implementing several projects that take advantage of information and communications technology (ICT) improvements to expand and improve health-related services to rural populations.

Smartphones for Better Health: Using the data and communication capacity of mobile phones to support an innovative voucher-based program for disease treatment.

CellScope for Disease Diagnosis: Developing a modular, high magnification microscope attachment for cell phones so images of blood samples can be transmitted from remote locations.

Bodas For Life: Using the voice capacity of cell phones to create a new service that assists people in rural areas with access to medical services.

Mobile Phones for Literacy: Using cheap short message services (SMS) to turn mobile phones into an adult literacy platform in Niger.