Etisalat's Al Haddad: "m-health will help fight malnutrition in children and provide safer pregnancies for women across Tanzania"

Dar El Salaam, Tanzania and Abu Dhabi, UAE - 18th  September, 2011:  Etisalat`s Group Chief Marketing  Officer and Chairman of Zantel, Essa Al Haddad, has announced a joint program between the Etisalat Group, Zantel, Qualcomm and D-Tree International to bring mobile health services to Tanzania.

Working closely with the Government of Zanzibar, Etisalat, Zantel and D-Tree International will use mobile technology to support front-line healthcare providers in offering high quality counseling, preventive care and treatment to women and children. 

Etisalat, Zantel and Qualcomm will provide connectivity, handsets and other technologies to the program, while D-tree International in conjunction with the Ministry of Health of Zanzibar alongside several leading international non-governmental organizations will deploy the service.

Commenting on this initiative Essa Al Haddad, Group Chief Commercial Officer said: "This partnership is part of a broader series of agreements that combine a numbers of technologies from leading companies and experts in mobile healthcare. This includes decision support applications and integrated technological backbones for scalable mobile solutions. These agreements will help support the treatment of children, pregnant women and chronic diseases."

Etisalat's program, along with its partners, has been initiated in light of the risk of maternal fatalities which are estimated at 50 times higher in Sub-Saharan Africa compared to developed countries. Nearly half a million women on the continent die each year in pregnancy and four million newborns die during the first twenty-eight days.

Al Haddad continued: "We have been spurred to introduce this program putting in mind the rapid penetration of mobile phones in the developing countries and the need to use advanced technology to provide and support healthcare in these markets. Malnutrition and lack of medical care for pregnant women have cost millions of lives and are most dangerous in countries across Africa, including Tanzania."

Highlighting on the program's features Al Hadad said: "This application will help to fight malnutrition in children and provide safer pregnancies for women in Tanzania.  The mobile phone will be equipped with special software to help medical professionals care for children and maintain a patient record which helps support extended care. The tool also aids midwives which will ensure safer deliveries for pregnant women. It can help in quickly and accurately identifying obstetric emergencies, as well as enabling caregivers to arrange transportation during emergencies to the nearest healthcare facility where patients can receive the appropriate care."

Hon. Dr. Mohammed Al Jiddawi Principle Secretary of the Ministry of Health Tanzania stated that: "Malnutrition in children and women in Tanzania is one of the major challenges we are facing. For these reasons, Zanzibar has undertaken many programs to enhance the provision of emergency obstetric care and other child health improvements. Thanks to this advanced technology we are able to transform the way we serve the people of Tanzania.  We are delighted to work with a company such as Etisalat, and its consortium of partners, for their expertise in employing technologies to support the community's well-being."

Dr Marc Mitchell, President of D-Tree, said "We believe that mHealth has the potential to revolutionize the way health services are provided in countries such as Tanzania. By providing decision support tools to frontline health workers, combined with Etisalat's extensive telecommunications portfolio, we can assist governments to extend the reach of the health system into the communities where people live. We are proud to work with Etisalat as one of few operators that have the potential facilities in Africa, the Middle East and Asia to make this initiative a success."

Jay Srage, President of Middle East and Africa operations for Qualcomm, said: "Wireless connectivity holds the power to extend quality health care to remote areas by effectively removing the geographic barrier between health care provider and patient.  Qualcomm is pleased to collaborate with Etisalat, D-Tree and others in bringing the benefits of mHealth to Tanzania have underserved communities."

-Ends-

About Etisalat
An uncompromising commitment to excellence and innovation has seen Etisalat become one of the world's fastest-growing telecom groups, rapidly expanding across Asia and Africa.

Its UAE operations, strategically located at the crossroads of East and West enables Etisalat to be the major hub in the Middle East for Internet, voice, broadcast, roaming and corporate data services.

Its stellar performance has won Etisalat recognition as 'Best Operator' ten times since 2006 and 'Best Wholesale Provider' four times in the last three years.

Servicing over 135 million customers in 18 countries Etisalat continues to reach out to new customers and markets.

About Zantel
Zantel is the official brand name for Zanzibar Telecom Limited, the fourth mobile service provider in Tanzania. Zantel is a home-grown Tanzanian company that seeks to positively enhance the lives of all its customers through improved communications.

By providing value, high quality and smooth services, Zantel seeks to present customers with service they can rely on whether to conduct business efficiently or simply stay in touch with friends and family.

Zantel offers fixed/wireless services, international traffic and carrier service, data communications service and the Internet, CDMA, IP telephony and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) as well as Value-Added Network Service (VANS).

Zantel was the first private telecom company in Tanzania to own an international gateway that enabled Zantel to reduce the rates for international calls by 60% that paved way for cheaper international calls in the country. It offers the most affordable and competitive international rates in the country to all the popular international destinations in the world and is partnering with more mobile companies to ensure customers roam with Zantel anywhere in the world. Today, Zantel's network covers all cities, major towns, highways and rural areas in Tanzania.

About D-tree International. http://www.d-tree.org
D-tree International is a non-profit organization committed to changing the way health care is delivered throughout the world. We are dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare available to the world's poor by using innovative technology to provide accurate and effective point-of-care diagnosis and treatment. The vision of D-tree International is a world in which every person has access to high quality health care.

About Qualcomm 
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the world leader in 3G and next-generation mobile technologies.  For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of wireless communications, connecting people more closely to information, entertainment and each other.  Today, Qualcomm technologies are powering the convergence of mobile communications and consumer electronics, making wireless devices and services more personal, affordable and accessible to people everywhere.  For more information, visit Qualcomm around the Web: www.qualcomm.com

Corporate Blog: www.qualcomm.com/blog

Twitter: www.twitter.com/qualcomm

Facebook: www.facebook.com/qualcomm 

For more information on the Etisalat Group, please contact
Ms. Nahid M. Hassan
Etisalat Group Senior Manager Media Relations
E: nahelsayed@etisalat.ae
T: 0097126172187

For more information on the D-tree International
Dr. Marc Mitchell, President, D-tree International +1.617.432.6322 info@d-tree.org 

For more information on Qualcomm
Mr. Dan Album
Qualcomm Corporate Communications
E: corpcomm@qualcomm.com
T: 1 858 845 5959

© Press Release 2011