The World Health Organization has come together with ITU, the UN information and communication technologies agency, in a new partnership focusing on the use of mobile technology to improve NCDs prevention and treatment. This partnership aims to contribute to global and national efforts to save lives, minimize illness and disability, and reduce the social and economic burden due to NCDs. The NCD Alliance is a proud partner of the initiative.
A number of countries are already using mobile technology to survey the NCD epidemic, to raise awareness about the prevalence of risk factors, and to help countries implement national laws concerning NCDs. These successful pilots will be used as templates, scaled - up and customized to each country’s need. MHealth operational projects will be set up in participating countries, and an mHealth intervention package will bolster and support the more traditional existing methods of combatting NCDs.
Mobile solutions will be primarily SMS- or app-based, and will include a range of services including mAwareness, mTraining, mBehavioural Change, mSurveillance, mTreatment, mDisease management and mScreening. These services will build on the existing successful pilots and scale them to fit population levels. Countries will be able to choose the interventions that are the most feasibly affordable, and most suited to their needs.