Arogya World, a US-based non-profit organisation,
announced a collaboration with Nokia at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative
(CGI) Annual Meeting this week on an SMS-based diabetes prevention program in
India. The program aims to raise awareness about diabetes and its prevention
through text messages and hopes to reach one million consumers in rural
and urban India over the next two years.
A consortium of organizations in India and the US,
including Emory University, Biocon, LifeScan, and Aetna, are providing
financial and research support. Market research firm Synovate will conduct a
two-year analysis of the program’s effectiveness.
Tough challenges in global health can be best addressed
through public-private partnerships no one organization can do it alone,” said
Nalini Saligram, founder, Arogya World.
Arogya World is committed to preventing diabetes through
lifestyle changes in India, and is leveraging mHealth as a solution to the
diabetes crisis. If found effective, our mHealth efforts in India could potentially
serve as a benchmark for chronic disease prevention in developing countries,
where diabetes and NCDs have the highest impact,” Saligram added.
As part of the program, Arogya World will provide free
content for six months to both current and new Nokia customers in India who
have Nokia Life Tools, a program that provides targeted information via SMS for
Healthcare, Agriculture, Entertainment and Education.
Messages will be delivered twice a week and are available
in 12 commonly used languages in India. After the sixth month introductory
period, the diabetes awareness and prevention messages will be available to
subscribers at a nominal fee.
Mobile phones are ushering in an information revolution
in the daily lives of millions, especially in the emerging markets. We are very
pleased to partner with Arogya World and the other industry partners to take
mobile Health services to the next level. Delivering targeted diabetes
prevention messages to a profiled audience using our Nokia Life Tools platform,
in a sustained and continuous engagement will, we believe, encourage people to
adopt a healthier lifestyle,” said Jawahar Kanjilal, global head, Nokia Life
Tools.
By Telecomlead.com Team
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