Ericsson United Nations telemedicine project

Ericsson has joined the United Nations Office for Partnerships' mHealth project, which uses telecommunications to bring mobile health applications and telemedicine to rural Africa.

"This initiative reflects Ericsson's ongoing commitment to harnessing our technical leadership to develop sustainable business models that bridge the digital and health divides," said Carl-Henric Svanberg, Ericsson's president and CEO.

"Telecommunications play a vital role in facilitating access to health services, which help end the cycle of poverty and empower communities to improve their own social and economic situations," he added.

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Ericsson has joined the United Nations Office for Partnerships' mHealth project, which uses telecommunications to bring mobile health applications and telemedicine to rural Africa.

"This initiative reflects Ericsson's ongoing commitment to harnessing our technical leadership to develop sustainable business models that bridge the digital and health divides," said Carl-Henric Svanberg, Ericsson's president and CEO.

"Telecommunications play a vital role in facilitating access to health services, which help end the cycle of poverty and empower communities to improve their own social and economic situations," he added.

Though other telecommunications companies are already partners in the U.N. project, Ericsson said it will use its expertise to spearhead the project's technology stream and explore the use of mobile communications to deliver telemedicine to rural communities.

The Swedish outfit also hopes to help the U.N. achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aim to reduce extreme poverty around the globe.

"The United Nations sees Ericsson as a core strategic partner in the emerging field of digital health for development," said Amir Dossal, executive director of the U.N. Office for Partnerships.

Ericsson is a founding member of the Digital Health Initiative (DHI), a public/private partnership that works to create innovative models for the development and delivery of global health to millions in developing countries.

The U.N. believes the DHI will form the basis of a strategic framework for new model partnerships across the ICT, pharmaceutical and health-technology sectors, with a view towards accelerated delivery of the health-related MDGs, Dossal said.

Other founding members of the DHI include the Commonwealth Business Council; Pfizer; the Global Business Council for AIDS, TB and Malaria; and the African Business Round Table.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.