[EM]POWERED: Partnership
[EM]POWERED by Innovative Communications
Can you imagine walking a full day to a clinic to receive the life-saving malaria treatment your child needs only to discover the necessary medicine was out of stock? How would you feel if you showed up for seminary to find you had no way to access the textbooks you would need for the semester?
These are not uncommon scenarios in health facilities and schools in some developing countries where technology systems and infrastructures don't allow for the easy and constant flow of communication to which we're accustomed in the United States.
For a team of doctors and administrators at a health facility in the North Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), tracking inventory is a cumbersome and laborious task that never seems to end. Stock must be monitored and recorded by hand, before a staff member physically delivers the paper records to a health board office in Kinshasa. The journey is long and, due to poor infrastructure, sometimes not even possible. But if the records don't reach the health board office in time, life-saving resources and supplies dwindle, and are sometimes simply out of stock when they're needed most.
An exciting new prototype using UMConnect is being launched to address this perilous paper trail. The new model will gather and monitor critical HIV and malaria supply inventory in clinics and other health facilities across the DRC. The system will allow clinicians to submit their reports directly to the health board via text messaging. This new, more efficient model, fueled by a partnership between Global Communications Technology and the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), will not only prevent stock-outs, but also save lives!
Solutions like this are made possible through strategic partnerships that allow us to leverage our communications expertise to collaborate and dream with others who have specialized knowledge in areas like health, education, or peace building. When we build channels to connect with subject matter experts in many areas, we can solve problems, respond to evolving challenges, and deliver creative programming to address critical needs.
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