Telecoms provider to introduce E-health scheme in rural areas in Nigeria

THE Country Manager/Sales Avanti Communications, based in Lagos, Mrs Jane Egerton-Idehen, a Satellite Company, has stressed for the introduction of E-health in Nigeria to boost health services in the country.

Egerton-Idehen, who is also a director in the company, made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos said the company planned to introduce such scheme, soon in Nigeria as parts of its efforts to complement health services, especially in the rural areas.

She said that the company had discovered that most rural populace did not have access to rural health services, adding that E-health services would facilitate peoples’ access to rural healthcare, especially in rural areas.

She said that doctors and specialists in the cities were not positioned to relocate to rural areas, to give effective health service, but with the broadband services, the company could do E-health.

According to her, with the telemetric and E-health services, people can also have normal basic health appliances that have the ability to connect to the crowd and boost health services.

“When we have broadband services in health centres designated in rural areas, invariably, the dwellers can have access to doctors and specialists to treat them of chronic diseases.

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“A specialist that doesn’t need to be present physically can attend to them via broadband and internet services.

She said that broadband services could ensure good and sound health for the people in rural areas.

Avanti is a world-leading provider of agile, secure and pioneering satellite technology across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“With over 1.2 billion dollars invested in our Ka-band HYLAS satellite fleet and ultra-secure ground infrastructure, we are enabling businesses, governments and people in over 118 countries to be more secure, empowered and prosperous.

“Our network of high-throughput satellites and dual-redundant Gateway Earth Stations enable our team on the ground to go the extra mile even in the most remote or demanding of situations in offering satellite services.

“We believe in making an impact, using our technology to educate people on health and other issues in Africa,“ she said.

The Vice President, Sales of Papersoft, another Lagos-based digital and Telecom Provider, Mr Jorge Carvalho, told NAN that the company was poised to contribute to telecoms services in the country.

“We have resolved to offer continued, enhanced quality and efficient service delivery to boost telecommunication services in the country.

“We aim to speed the customer’s digital transformation journey at different maturity stages with a user-centric approach by ensuring compliance, risk management, cost and process efficiencies, creating new ways of work with content to boost out efficient in service delivery.

“With document processing services that allow capture, scan, extract, automate and archive with Digital Mailroom, Invoice Automation, we shall be complementing government’s efforts in enhancing communication services in Nigeria.

He said the distribution channels, designed by the company, would go a long way in contributing to the promotion of financial inclusion and enhance the economy of the country.

“Papersoft platform address the needs of the Digital Financial Services, Banking, Telcos, Insurance, Retail and Utilities industries.

He, however, identified low connectivity as one of the problems hampering the company’s efficient service delivery to clients.

Also speaking, the Chief Operating Officer, Pan African Towers, Lagos Telecom Service Provider, Mr Wole Abu said that the company was poised to making telecommunication services in Nigeria better and efficient.

He stressed that security remained the most challenging problem facing the company as an infrastructure provider in the country.

“We have the infrastructure (towers) in many places, some are by the roadsides, remote areas and even in conflict zones, at times we found our sites being vandalised,“ he said.

He, however, said that due to insecurity being experienced by the company in some areas where the infrastructure is stationed, it had been difficult for its engineers and guards to apparently secure the facilities.

Abu expressed concern that some people took laws into their hands by shutting down the infrastructure.

This act he said made the quality of services offered by the clients inaccessible, “even when the quality of service is a key to national growth.”

“We have tier 1 customers- Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) companies, tier 2 are data providers among others.

“Our interest is across Africa, we are present in all states of the country with our infrastructure.

“Most of the telecommunications companies need us to partner with them to provide them with infrastructure which is basically a tower element to enable efficient service delivery.

He said that with improvement in the security of the sites, the company would be able to offer much better services to the people.