The potential of mobile phone technology for public health practice in Ethiopia

Abstract

The invention of mobile phones has significantly chanted communication (1). There is a growing global trend in harnessing this technology for behavior change, diseasesurveillance, prevention and control (2-4).In Ethiopia, access to mobile phones is expanding widely (5). The expansion of the services to rural and inaccessible areas has made them a preferred way of communication. Ethio-Telecom, the sole telecommunication services provider in the nation, has the ambition of 85% national geographic coverage of mobile signals which is expected to expand mobile phone services across the country. According to the agency, in July 2011 the number of mobile phone subscribers in Ethiopia exceeded 10 million; this implies that one in eight Ethiopian has access to mobile phones (5,6). With the trend of decreasing prices of mobile handsets, improved services and coverage, the uptake of use of cell phones will increase (5).