Devex: Data and mobile
Martin Edlund, founding member and CEO of Malaria No More

“Of all the tools in the malaria fight (including the obvious ones such as nets, testing, treatment, and spraying) mobile phones may be the ones that tip the balance toward ending this disease. That’s why at Malaria No More we’ve been bold in proclaiming that malaria can be the first disease beaten by mobile. … The Novartis-led SMS for Life program has demonstrated the potential of mobile to address stock outs and ensure that people have malaria drugs when and where they need them. … In a similar fashion, mobile phones may be the key to solving the challenge of counterfeit and stolen malaria treatments. … If anything, harnessing the power of mobile and data becomes more important as countries move toward malaria elimination. As the scale of the problem shrinks, the need for timely and precise surveillance data only grows. Vital elements such as real-time reporting of cases and accurate intervention mapping are now possible thanks to Web, mapping, mobile, and data analytics tools…” (10/21).