NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, July 1, 2016

KAMPALA— Uganda has just one doctor for every 25,000 people, and health care can be particularly hard to access in rural areas; but, a medical hotline is bridging the gap, using social media to allow Ugandans to talk directly with certified doctors and pharmacists.

The phones don’t actually ring that much at the office of the Medical Concierge Group in Kampala.

People primarily contact them via What’s App and other messaging platforms. Using social media keeps overhead down and allows the group to offer the 24-hour hotline service for free. ​Dr. Yvette Wibabara, who works at the call center, said that questions often reflect local health outreach initiatives.

“Certain seasons they publicize about health topics, menstruation, immunization,” said Wibabara. “So depending on what’s going on with the UNICEF publications that’s what they get here most. The other platform we have is incoming and outgoing calls. Here we go.”