IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Rwanda's telemedicine project is getting back on track one year after it was set to start, now that internet connectivity issues appear to have been resolved, New Times reported. Under the plan, district hospitals across the country were to start using the technology to treat patients without doctors necessarily meeting them physically. The aim was to improve access to medical services that would otherwise not be available, especially in rural areas, by linking health facilities across the country with the national referral hospitals. A three-month pilot scheme had been due to begin on 01 February 2012, but was delayed.

Richard Gakuba, the coordinator of e-health at the Ministry of Health, said the project was delayed by the lack of infrastructure to support it. Gakuba said the fibre-optic network was not working properly in some districts. A high-speed broadband network is needed for a stable internet connection, which is necessary for the project to take place. Gakuba added that the internet issue seems to have been resolved after the fibre-optic network became operational in some parts of the country, and the project is set to start soon in some district hospitals. According to Gakuba, the first hospitals to benefit from the project will be district hospitals offering practical training to students pursuing medical studies at higher learning institutions.

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Quelle/Source: Telecompaper, 11.01.2013

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