IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Half of the world's inactive universal service funds are located in sub-Saharan Africa

In many parts of the semi-arid regions here in Kenya, residents often walk long distances and climb trees to get a signal. This scenario is replicated in many areas in Africa, as well.

Telecom companies don't see such areas as profitable. With the population in these regions sparsely spread over large tracts of land, such areas would be capital intensive to cover. As a result, getting a mobile signal in rural Africa can be like striking gold.

Read more: Sub-Saharan Africa: Universal service funds push rural connectivity in Africa, but hurdles remain

How long did you have to wait to see your doctor the last time you were ill? A few days? Or maybe just a few hours? Yet as Americans, the health care crisis is a constant topic of daily conversation and political debate. However, health care in the U.S. is exponentially more accessible than that of other regions of the world. While in America we have one doctor for every 390 people, regions in sub-Saharan Africa have one doctor for every 50,000 people. Many people living in the rural areas of countries such as Tanzania or Kenya must travel for an entire day and spend up to two days' income for medical advice.

While you might be wondering what, other than being sympathetic, we can do from across the world, a group of students at The Pennsylvania State University has jumped to the challenge to make a difference. These students have enrolled in classes that will allow them to go above and beyond what is imagined, much less expected, of young adults.

Read more: Health Care Kiosks Spring Up in Sub-Saharan Africa

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has highlighted the importance of ICTs and integrated police forces in the sub-Saharan African region.

Addressing the 3rd IACP Sub-Saharan Africa Executive Policing Conference in Kigali, President Kagame said: “It is evident that the security challenges of the twenty-first century are increasingly sophisticated as well as global, and require international collaboration to effectively combat them.”

Read more: Sub-Sahara Africa: ICTs, connected police critical for safety and security

The European Space Agency (ESA) has set up an international consortium to pave the way for the use of satellite systems to help overcome the challenges to healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa. The region has around 11% of the world′s population, but has 25% of the global disease burden (in human and financial costs), but less than 1% of global health expenditure. Delivery is also a challenge, with just 3% of the world′s health workers deployed in the region, so doctors and nurses are often a long way from their patients and access is difficult due to poor infrastructure.

Information and communications technology (ICT) and in particular satellite communications can enable the timely delivery of care, training and educational content, perform epidemic surveillance and support health system administration over the vast distances involved in the region.

Read more: ESA launches project to improve healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa with satellite technology