ICT graduates urged to take part in disease detection endeavours

The Southern African Centre for Infectious Diseases Surveillance (SACIDS) has urged Tanzanian youth graduating from Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to develop software that would help in detecting diseases.

 

SACIDS Managing Director, Prof Mark Rweyemamu, made the remarks when he addressed a just-ended workshop whose theme was: “Enhancing Community-Based Disease Outbreak Detection and Response in East and Southern Africa.” 

 

The three-day EpiHack Tanzania 2015 workshop brought together more than 50 developers as well as animal and human health experts. They were to jointly develop digital prototypes for disease detection in member states of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

 

The conference was jointly organised by EpiHack Tanzania, SACIDS, EAIDSNet, InSTEDD and CORDS. Its purpose was to develop the ability of participants in surveillance of diseases by using digital methods, including mobile phones. 

 

In this way they would spread information fast among colleagues in East and Southern Africa.

 

“We are emphasising on the youth to be innovative and use science to improve research and detection of the virus that causes various diseases affecting human beings, animals and the ecology system in East and Southern Africa,” he noted.

 

The CORDS Managing Director, Prof Nigel Lighfoot, said they were determined to cooperate with other stakeholders to prepare modern equipment for disease surveillance at all research levels.

 

Prof Esron Karimuribo, the CORDS Head of Project, said they expected to come up with a programme that could be used in areas with no internet connection.

 

He explained that the programme will enable researchers to enter information even when there is no power and send it when it is on again.

 

He said once effective the programme would boost government efforts in the fight against epidemics.SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN