Sometimes, when we think about a new app or technology that will be useful for improving health in African people, we don’t consider the applicability that this app will have. We imagine a super-app that will resolve the problem for which it has been designed, which will be cost-effective, easy to use and that everybody will use. But the reality is very different. Yes, the app is perfect, but it’s primarily perfect for its use in developed countries. It’s important to have in mind that in Africa they don’t have the same Internet access as us. The population only represents 10% of Internet users in the world. Besides, its global Internet penetration rate is about 31,2%, according to 2017 data, although in countries like Kenya or South-Africa the rates are higher, at 89,4% and 54% respectively. So, maybe we should consider the whole scene before planning a new app. We are so used to having Internet access always that we don’t think that this doesn’t happen everywhere.
Biblio: Internet World Stats. Internet Users Statics for Africa [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2018 Jan 15]. Available from: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm