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

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

The exponential growth of mobile telephony in Kenya has seen changes not only in communication but healthcare as well.

Quarterly reports by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) at the end of 2015, indicate that mobile penetration stood at 88.1 per cent, with 37.8 million subscribers, up from 36.1 million in the previous quarter.

A group of young techies from a local institution have taken advantage of this to develop smartphone applications that could be game changers in access to medical services.

The applications seek to solve some of Kenya’s impediments to access to healthcare: locating ambulance services in emergency situations; booking hospital appointments; daily meal guides for diabetics among others.