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BETTEReHEALTH supports
deployment of eHealth in
lower income countries in
Africa for better health
outcomes
(Olso,
Norway) -
The European Commission
funded BETTEReHEALTH project
aims to contribute to
better, more accessible, and
more efficient health and
care services in low and
lower middle income
countries (LLMICs) in
Africa, by coordinating and
supporting the deployment of
sustainable eHealth
solutions.
The
African and European
partners that are involved
in the BETTEReHEALTH
initiative, strongly believe
in the project’s credo:
“Better eHealth is Better
Health,” whereby eHealth is
not the goal in itself, but
rather a tool to support
better health services and
health outcomes.
The
project will map and
identify various human,
technical and public policy
factors that are a barrier,
or on the contrary, an
enabler for eHealth
implementation, and from
there derive strategies and
policies for more successful
use of eHealth, and thus
better health. At the same
time, BETTEReHEALTH also
supports the development of
new and existing strategic
partnerships on the African
continent, as well as
between European and African
stakeholders in healthcare,
research, education,
business and government.
This networking,
partnership building and
exchange of knowledge is
evidenced by the four
regional hubs that are being
set up in Tunisia, Ghana,
Ethiopia and Malawi, already
endorsed by each country's
Ministry of Health, which is
important, as strong
ownership of national
eHealth programs is crucial
to their success.
Furthermore, BETTEReHEALTH
will create open access
registries with information
on eHealth policies and
solutions. The registries
will be used to identify
best practices and provide
useful knowledge on eHealth
implementation. This
information will lead to
well informed policy
roadmaps and strategic
implementation plans for
better eHealth services for
the four countries hosting
the regional hubs, but will
also be of high relevance
for all other African
countries who will be
involved in the project.
BETTEReHEALTH will
increase the level of
international cooperation in
eHealth, inform and
strengthen end-user
communities and policy
makers in making the right
decisions for the successful
implementation of eHealth,
and lead to increased
collaboration opportunities
for stakeholders in Africa
and Europe with the overall
aim of better health
outcomes through better
healthcare accessibility and
higher quality.
On
the launch of BETTEReHEALTH,
Morten Dalsmo, Executive
Vice President at SINTEF and
Head of SINTEF Digital, one
of Europe’s largest
independent research
organizations and
Coordinator of the project,
said: “ BETTEReHEALTH is an
important contribution to
improve the quality of
health services and increase
access to health for
underserved populations in
Africa. This project is very
much in line with SINTEF's
vision "technology for a
better society" and our
commitment to the
sustainable development
goals. SINTEF has valuable
experience from projects in
eHealth and digital health
and in addition to
coordinating BETTEReHEALTH,
we aim to share these
experiences with the
consortium and the health
authorities in African
countries. Furthermore,
SINTEF and our partners have
an extensive network in
Africa.
BETTEReHEALTH
aims for stakeholders in
Africa and Europe to connect
and make new partnerships
with the overall purpose of
better health outcomes.”
For more information
about BETTEReHEALTH, go to:
www.betterehealth.eu
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