Disease outbreaks in remote areas of Ghana are most often reported late or underreported due the lack of avenues to channel these reports to inform relevant national intervention.

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is working on a mobile application which makes it easy for underserved communities to access healthcare.

The mobile application which is being developed under the MESTI mHealth Project can operate with or without internet. It has two sections: A part for ordinary Ghanaians and a place for medical professionals.

The app would be used to gather data on disease symptoms which will then be analysed by the medical personnel for swift mediation.

To address the language barrier, the app is equipped with a language translation feature.

Beyond this, users can seek virtual consultation and emergency care among others.

The app, jointly developed by KNUST Colleges of Health Sciences and Science is funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC-CRDI) through the Ministry of Environment Science and Technology (MESTI) and Science Granting Councils Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa (SGC IOSRS).

At a stakeholder consultation, Principal Investigator of the project, Dr. Rose-Mary Owusuaa Mensah Gyening said the initiative aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 3.

“If we achieve goal 3, it’ll definitely trickle down to the other goals. We want to ensure a healthy life for all especially marginalized communities,” he said.

Co-Investigator, Dr. Emmanuel Ahene added: “In almost every region in Ghana, you’d realise that there are people who have limited access to healthcare and they are our target.”

KNUST vice-chancellor, Prof. Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson charged the scientists to partner other colleges to give the project a sociological touch.