Over 2,500 attendees from the U.S. and 48 other countries participated in the 2010 mHealth Summit presented by the Foundation for NIH in partnership with the mHealth Alliance and NIH on November 8-10 in Washington D.C. So far, the mHealth Alliance is working with diverse partners such as the Rockefeller Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, the Vodafone Foundation, GSM Association, HP, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
The Maternal mHealth Initiative a core project of the mHealth Alliance designs, develops, and delivers solutions to reduce maternal and infant mortality around the world through public-private partnerships and cross sector collaborations.
Speaking at the Summit, Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, announced that the Foundation is providing a $1 million grant to go to the mHealth Alliance to support the core budget and activities of the mHealth Initiative including the Health UnBound online community and the Alliance-led Maternal mHealth Initiative.
She said “Innovations in mobile communications are unparalleled and may have limitless potential in overcoming persistent global health challenges. These innovations will only succeed if we create the networks and partnerships that allow us to bring them to scale and unlock their full potential.”
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation announced that they are also providing $1 million to support the “Maternal mHealth Initiative”. As Co-Chair of the UN’s Innovation Working Group for the Global Strategy for Maternal Health, Norway was instrumental in identifying mHealth as a critical innovation to achieving UN Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 concerning child and maternal mortality and health. The grant from Norway will also focus on undertaking a global inventory of current maternal and newborn mHealth projects and hopefully spark consensus discussions concerning model solutions.
In addition to the other organizations, HP announced a two year $1 million donation to help improve healthcare and health systems around the globe using mobile technology. David Aylward, Executive Director of the mHealth Alliance said “The financial, technical expertise, and project support provided by HP will help the mHealth Alliance expand partnerships, find solutions, and provide sustainable deployments of mobile technology globally.”
For more information, go to www.mHealthAlliance.org.
