Phones for Health Rwanda: Video Transcript

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IN RWANDA IS EXPANDING RAPIDLY AND IS BEING USED IN INNOVATIVE WAYS TO SUPPORT THE SCALE-UP OF HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS. THIS IS IN A COUNTRY WHERE ONLY A SMALL MINORITY OF HEALTH FACILITIES HAVE FIXED LINE CONNECTIVITY.

DR. ANITA ASSIMWE, DIRECTOR OF TRAC:
Rwanda has about a population of nine million and it is localized in Central Africa. It’s a landlocked country and you would say it’s about seventy-five miles south of the equator in Central Africa. Rwanda is quite a poor country–in fact it’s among the poorest countries. I mean, I’m looking at per capita GDP of two hundred and fifty U.S. dollars–and when you try to average that you’re looking at eighty-seven percent of the people living with less than two U.S. dollars per day. Today, we are looking at three percent of the population of Rwanda is living with HIV. So we are looking at about one hundred and ninety thousand–even slightly more than that–of the people living in Rwanda are living with HIV.

MICHAEL R. ARIETTI, AMBASSADOR OF THE USA TO RWANDA:
The United States and Rwanda have been working together very closely since 2003 on a program to convey–combat HIV/AIDS in Rwanda, and it’s been a great success so far.

DR. AGNES BINGAWAHO, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL HIV/AIDS COMMISSION:
I think in Rwanda all people in leader positions have to support the fight against HIV/AIDS. But physically, it’s not just the leadership–the communities are totally involved. There is a true connection and true link between the top leadership, the middle leadership, and the communities to go–all of–for the same vision and to work. That’s why action plan is so easy implemented– because it’s not the leadership who implements; it’s the communities.

DR. ANITA ASSIMWE, DIRECTOR OF TRAC:
The major challenges associated with the scourge of HIV and AIDS is that providing healthcare services in such a poor country is very difficult. If I look at the figures, the ratio is one doctor for every fifty thousand inhabitants. And then when I look at the nurses, I’m looking at about one nurse per three thousand and nine hundred inhabitants. So what we’ve done in TRAC–what I’ve already mentioned as the Treatment and Research AIDS Center–we have an information tool we are using that we’ve referred to as TRACnet. And this tool helps us collect information from the different health facilities, the hospitals, the health centers. So we collect information about the HIV and AIDS patients using an electronic tool that feeds directly into our database.

MICHAEL R. ARIETTI, AMBASSADOR OF THE USA TO RWANDA:
TRACnet is a very innovative program to use modern technology to address the need for information management in a country like Rwanda.

DR. AGNES BINGAWAHO, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL HIV/AIDS COMMISSION:
With mobile technology–now–we have true TRACnet. A way to report quickly, and to give to TRAC a weekly report at each center who deliver ARVs. And also it’s a way to monitor the stock of medicine. This part of the report is read by CAMERWA, which is the center store of medicine. The medical report is read by TRAC. This also allow TRAC to have a report on side-effect of medicine and on level of CD-4. They are also linked with the lab reports–and very soon we are going to have true TRACnets reporting on VCT and on PMTCT. When we have this piece for HIV/AIDS totally finished, we’ll go for TB, we’ll go for malaria. And, that means HIV–it’s really a pilot for a health reporting system.

DR. ANITA ASSIMWE, DIRECTOR OF TRAC:
When we are using the TRACnet, people who’ve got internet connectivity feed us information using internet–using their computers. And, those who do not have internet connectivity feed us information using their mobile phones. So it’s with, if I would say, the mercy of having mobile phones in place that we are able to get this information on such a short period.

DR. AGNES BINGAWAHO, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL HIV/AIDS COMMISSION:
What is good with the system is that there are some time problem of electricity. But, you can just charge your phone with a solar panel. Sometimes, you don’t have a network–Rwanda is very well covered for the network. But, sometimes because of the big hills or–there is a problem of network, people can go on the top of the hill and do their report. They can do that with a car, with a bicycle, or just go for a little walk. What is good also through that system–you have less then three percent error when we compare both by site visits.

CREDITS:
Special thanks to
Dr. Agnes BINGAWAHO
Dr. Anita ASSIMWE
Ambassador Michael ARIETTI
Lilliose NIYITEGEKA

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