The Southern African Regional eHealth Hub of the BETTEReHEALTH project held its initial regional workshop on July 22-23, 2021 to share experiences of eHealth policies, standards and solutions across the SADC region.
The workshop, hosted by BETTEReHEALTH partner HISP-Malawi, brought together over thirty participants drawn from Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the host country Malawi.
The workshop successfully harnessed the enthusiasm and experience of participants who had backgrounds in government, NGOs, academia and the private sector. The workshop was opened by Deputy Director for Planning in the Malawi Ministry of Health, who is also member of the BETTEReHEALTH Advisory Board, Dr. Gerald Manthalu. In his opening speech, he emphasized that the workshop should help build partnerships and collaboration in the Southern African region, and across Africa as a whole, to a position where eHealth related issues are well coordinated and shared.
BETTEReHEALTH project coordinator, SINTEF (Norway), was represented by Kirsti Sarheim Anthun. In her remarks, she briefed participants about the background, aims and planned actions of the overall BETTEReHEALTH project.
HISP-Malawi Executive Director, Anthony Muyepa presented the activities of HISP-Malawi and this was followed by presentations eHealth stakeholder analysis, eHealth policies, interoperability and standards, and sustainable and trustable infrastructure. Each presentation started with main presentation by a member of HISP-Malawi, based on research findings within the BETTEReHEALTH project, and culminated in discussion with and among all participants from other countries, who were able to provide insights into the state of affairs in their respective countries. The workshop also included a detailed presentation on interoperability and standards that are being implemented in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
For more information, or to actively join the BETTEReHEALTH Regional eHealth Hubs and contribute to the Hub activities and participate in the Hub events, contact us at info@betterehealth.eu.
