App gives quick answers to residents on frequently-asked health questions
An exchange partnership of young professionals from Germany and community healthcare workers from Tokoloho in Tumahole will soon enable residents to get answers to some of the most frequently-asked questions about illnesses like TB, HIV and measles through an app on their smartphones.
The information exchange platform has been developed by adesso SE, a
Europe-wide IT consulting company, specialising in consulting and developing IT solutions in fields like health, life sciences, public, automotive and more.
Efforts for developing the CarAH app started in 2022. The first part of the Tokoloho Foundation app for smartphones was finished during the young professionals’ recent visit to South Africa. Final work on the app is being done, and once it is ready, users can download it for free on Playstore. The app can also be used offline, and the content will be added by Tokoloho’s community healthcare workers.
Besides answering questions on illnesses, the user-friendly app offers interesting articles on how adesso supports clinics in South Africa, medicine pickup dates, and managing Covid-19.
What is the CarAH project?
The CarAH (adesso Cares about Health) project is a non-profit project that was implemented in cooperation with the Tokoloho Foundation’s community clinic in South Africa. It started when Tanja Picker (adessi), Gabriele Schmitt (Arbeit und Leben NRW e.V.) and Almud Pollmeier (Südafrika-Hilfe and a local physician) came up with the idea for a joint project in 2018 to promote intercultural exchange between young adults. It focuses on learning about the respective healthcare system. They also wanted to establish communication and create connections between the groups, getting to know the local culture and conditions.
Various organisations are involved in the overall project. They include the Tokoloho Foundation, a health-orientated non-profit organisation/community clinic, funded by Südafrika-Hilfe and the Department of Social Development, among others. They work in partnership with the Department of Health. The community clinic provides medical care in the Tumahole township.
Südafrika-Hilfe is a non-profit association that aids in developing public relations and fundraising for Lewis Balink Foundation’s projects.
Arbeit und Leben NRW e.V. supports the group, while Südafrika-Hilfe assists in applying for funding, and sponsors the professional exchange programme.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development funds the programme as part of the Teams UP! programme line, focusing on the extracurricular exchange of youth groups that focus on developing policy issues.
Adesso supports the project with technology and technical advice regarding the course of the project and its implementation.
Everyone involved in the project is a volunteer.
How did the exchange begin?
An adesso team travelled to South Africa in November 2019 to familiarise themselves with the conditions. With the initial step, the group improved the IT infrastructure. It also implemented MediOne in the community clinic and installed it on staff’s smartphones. This e-health communication tool is a secure application, boasting encrypted end-to-end communication. In the winter of 2021, another four adessi set out for the Tumahole township to have a look at the clinic and get to know the South African participants.
The South African group that forms part of the exchange team visited Germany in 2022, with a two-week follow-up meeting in South Africa from 15 January this year. The German students returned to Dortmund, Germany, on Monday, 30 January.
During the South African and German visits to the respective countries, they became familiar with the processes and conditions for medical practices in hospitals, looking at the differences and similarities between the two countries’ healthcare systems.
Although the group had to reschedule their activities during their recent visit to Parys due to community protest action, they did visit the different clinics in Tumahole and got an insight into the daily work of clinic employees and community health workers. The group shared traditional German and South African meals and visited points of interest, ending the fortnight’s stay with a proper South African braai.
Cooperation will continue in the future, not only in the ongoing improvement and support of the application but also in other projects.
One such project is funding a solar system for the Tokoloho Foundation’s White house. The addition would power a fridge, where vaccines could be stored, even during load shedding.
