Health Tech Without Borders, Inc. (HTWB), iDocta, and VSee, announce their Commitment to Action in Cameroon as part of their Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2023 Meeting, held in New York, NY on September 18-19, 2023.
Project VITAL: Virtual International Telehealth and Leadership in Africa aims to expand access to healthcare in the conflict and climate-affected regions of Cameroon. Project VITAL plans to strengthen health systems through a sustainable training model, build healthcare worker capacity, promote skills underpinned by technology and innovation, build resilient communities, achieve equitable health, and empower youth. Project VITAL will leverage telehealth to enhance health equity by increasing access to specialists, enabling peer-to-peer consultations, providing tele-education, facilitating rapid triage, and identifying epidemics. “We are privileged to be making a commitment at CGI,” said Jarone Lee, co-founder of HTWB.
Over 30 million people need humanitarian assistance and mental health support in conflict and climate-affected regions of Cameroon and the Sahel Region. West and Central African regions have the highest maternal mortality rates globally while suffering from the effects of climate change, including extreme heat, drought, degradation of agriculture, and security challenges. Overall, this leads to displaced populations with poor and worsening access to healthcare. In 2015, Africa had around 1.3 health workers per 1,000 people, significantly less than the 4.5 needed to meet the United Nations’ goals for sustainable access to healthcare. Telehealth provides equitable, quality, and cost-effective care with the potential to improve equitable access to quality health services.
“Access to quality health services should not be a luxury, especially for those affected by climate change in the Sahel region. We are grateful for the opportunity CGI has given us to share our vision of using technology to transform health services and ensure that no one in Africa is left behind,” said Yap Boum, founder of iDocta.
Project VITAL’s other partners include Institut Pasteur of Bangui, Central Africa Republic; Reach Out Cameroon; Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health and Medical Device Interoperability & Cybersecurity Program (MD PnP); Boston Medical Center/Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
