A Ugandan mHealth Moratorium Is a Good Thing

Kampala is comfortable, with mild weather, good infrastructure (Umeme Electricity Co. notwithstanding), and more than its share of international-style restaurants for all those expatriate aid workers. And in contrast, the impoverished Northern regions of the country have the necessary need for immediate and long-term intervention from development organizations, from the small NGO to Big Aid.

The government, at first blush, seems to enjoy the arrangement Discussions of corruption within any large organization or government could fill volumes, but to put it succinctly, big money flows through Uganda, funds many of its public programs, and is certainly strained through the appropriate parliamentarians (and yes, a few high-paid NGO consultants) before arriving where it's needed.

The result is almost a gold-rush frenzy to get one's own brand of smart phone and wheel-reinventing Android app out to a handful of Village Health Team workers and change the world. In theory, this sounds like a win for the Ugandan people...

In practice, there are other details to consider...