Latest news with #mobileclinics
Forbes
10-07-2025
- Health
- Forbes
How AI Is Accelerating The Fight Against An Ancient Killer
At the Quezon City Jail in Metro Manila, Philippines, inmates are screened for tuberculosis. Here, a ... More screen displays an x-ray photo taken of one of the inmates. The software uses AI technology to analyze the x-rays for more accurate diagnosis. Tuberculosis (TB) remains the world's deadliest infectious disease – an ancient killer that still claims over a million lives each year, mostly among the world's poorest and hardest-to-reach. Yet we are on the brink of a new era of progress in the fight against the disease. This transformation is driven by a range of innovations, including artificial intelligence (AI). AI is rapidly improving our ability to detect TB in people and places that conventional health systems often fail to reach. With AI-powered software that analyzes digital chest X-rays, health workers can quickly identify people with TB. Mounted on mobile vans, these tools are bringing lifesaving care directly to underserved communities – prisoners, refugees, poor rural communities and the socially marginalized – helping us reach people with the disease who have long been missed by health systems. This is a breakthrough in how we deliver equitable access to TB diagnosis, treatment and care. In Pakistan – one of the countries with the highest TB burden – mobile clinics equipped with AI-assisted digital X-rays screen people on the spot, flagging potential cases for follow-up. This leads to earlier diagnosis, faster treatment, fewer people with TB missed and ultimately, more lives saved. Even better, these platforms aren't limited to detecting TB. They can also identify other lung diseases – pneumonia and whooping cough – as well as other noncommunicable diseases such as cardiomegaly. This is just one example of how AI is driving greater capacity, increasing efficiency and providing novel ways of reaching people where they are. For funders, this translates into a higher return on investment – one tool serving multiple functions, strengthening frontline care and improving efficiency across the health system. Scaling AI effectively will require focused investment to support countries in defining their priorities and shaping their own agenda. As we have seen with pharmaceuticals, the most impactful tools are those developed in collaboration with the people they are supposed to serve. Countries and communities must be supported to lead. Just as our partnerships on biomedical products have advanced health equity, AI must do the same – delivering impact that is not only effective, but also inclusive and equitable. At the Global Fund, we have invested over $193 million between 2021 and 2025 to roll out AI-enabled TB screening in more than 20 countries. But this is just the start. We see AI not only as a tool to beat TB, but as a platform that can power a much more efficient use of resources, support integrated service delivery spanning infectious diseases and noncommunicable conditions, and also strengthen pandemic preparedness and response. Our use of AI in the fight against TB – and the progress our partnership is making in reaching underserved communities – is a compelling proof of concept. The world is making significant gains in finding more people with TB. In 2023, 8.2 million people were identified as ill with the disease, up from 7.5 million in 2022 and 7.1 million in 2019. This is a dramatic improvement over the COVID-era lows of 5.8 million (2020) and 6.4 million (2021). The number of people with TB who go undiagnosed is also shrinking rapidly: just 2.7 million in 2023, down from about 4 million in both 2020 and 2021, and below the 2019 pre-pandemic level of 3.2 million. This progress is imperative. Without treatment, tuberculosis is often fatal, and a person with active, untreated TB can infect up to 15 others in a single year. Every individual we identify and treat brings us one step closer to ending this age-old disease and strengthening global health security. We know that AI can be a powerful tool for good in the fight against deadly infectious diseases. The question is whether our will to deploy it at scale will match its proven effectiveness and its transformative potential. For philanthropists and private sector partners, this is a moment where they can choose to make a huge difference. In resource-constrained settings, philanthropic funding and partnership will be essential to support countries to lead, define, develop and scale AI solutions that work. With this, we can deliver high-impact, scalable solutions that strengthen primary care, enable earlier treatment, and ensure we reach those most in need and those left furthest behind, as we are seeing in TB. That's a powerful promise – but it's one we'll only fulfill if we get it right. AI must be developed and deployed responsibly, with transparency, respect for local context and equity as its guiding principles. It must work for the people who are often excluded from the benefits of innovations. For donors seeking to invest in high-impact innovation, this is an opportunity to support solutions that are not only effective but truly transformational, saving lives and helping to build a healthier, more equitable future for all.
Zawya
20-06-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Mobile clinics enhance access to health care services in Niger
In Niger, West Africa's largest country by land surface, access to health care services is a major challenge. Just one in two people has access to health services. One of the ways to bridge the gap is through mobile clinics in remote areas and deploying medical teams from health districts to villages. Among the main beneficiaries of the initiative are pregnant women. They are now able to receive emergency assistance and care for timely detection of any complications. Mariama, 42, who suffered complications after a fall, is grateful to have received care thanks to a mobile clinic. Ordinarily, she would have had to travel for a whole day to the nearest district health facility in Dosso town from her home in the southwest of Niger. 'As I was preparing to make the trip, I was informed of a mobile clinic in our area, and I went there the very next day. The team midwife consulted me and discovered that I had premature rupture of membranes,' she recounts. Under the initiative 'mobile clinic teams visit villages that are hard to reach for health care in general and reproductive health services for women and children in particular,' says Nafissatou Salifou Panga, midwife and Reproductive Health Focal Point for Dosso health district. 'It is a huge relief that pregnant women are able to benefit from care that detects risks in time and provides them with appropriate care.' Thanks to the care and follow-up she received, Mariama gave birth safely. Like Mariama, 267 pregnant women in Dosso and Filingué districts benefited from mobile clinic consultations in 2024. In all, almost 28 000 people were consulted and 3767 women received reproductive health services. Around 16 000 women were sensitized by community outreach teams on reproductive, maternal and neonatal health in the two districts. In Mariama's case, the community health teams shared awareness messages that enabled her to be informed in time of the arrival of the mobile clinic. By reaching populations far from health centres, the mobile clinic initiative also helps to improve health coverage at district and national levels. For example, the maternal mortality ratio fell from 441 per 100 000 live births in 2017 to 350 in 2023, according to World Bank data. Dr Aissatou Laouali, in charge of the reproductive health programme with World Health Organization (WHO) in Niger, says the initiative helping to accelerate efforts towards health for all. 'For vulnerable populations, rapid access to quality health care is vital. Through these initiatives, we hope to move forward in solving the challenges particularly faced by mothers and children living in remote areas." To ensure service quality, the district, in collaboration with WHO, organizes planning meetings and field supervision trips and supports the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene in improving maternal and child health, in particular by providing technical guidelines, standards and protocols for reproductive, maternal and child health. Other support includes training health workers and improving the facilities in mother-and-child health centres, regional and district hospitals, and integrated health centres. WHO also supports training of health providers to ensure quality of care and health surveillance to curb maternal mortality. Niger has maintained the mobile clinics introduced earlier. In 2024, with support from WHO and donor financing, operational and medical equipment and supply needs of the mobile clinics were catered for. Additionally, 56 health workers and community outreach officers were trained in reproductive health in Dosso and Filingué districts. 'I was very satisfied with the care provided … I encourage the women in my community to come to the mobile clinic for any health problem,' says Mariama. 'If I hadn't gone to the centre after the incident, I would have had an infection with the risk of losing my baby." Distributed by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.
Emirates 24/7
01-06-2025
- General
- Emirates 24/7
Emirati mobile heart clinics tour Pakistani villages to provide comprehensive healthcare
The United Arab Emirates has continued to strengthen its humanitarian efforts in Pakistan by launching a new phase of mobile community clinic services, initiated by 'Doctors of the Emirates.' These clinics are currently intensifying their operations in remote villages to provide free specialised and preventive medical care, focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases, especially among children, women, and the elderly. The mobile clinics operate within an integrated field system supervised by specialised medical teams, including cardiologists, pediatricians, family doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and pharmacists. They are fully equipped with all necessary medical supplies, and medications and consultations are provided free of charge. This project is a continuation of 25 years of Emirati voluntary medical efforts in Pakistan, carried out through the UAE-Pakistan Field Hospital, which has benefited over one million people under the supervision of joint UAE-Pakistani medical teams. The initiative is implemented in coordination with the UAE Embassy in Pakistan and through a partnership between the Zayed Giving Initiative, the Sharjah Charity House, Emirates Mobile Community Clinics, and the Emirates Programme for Young Humanitarian Leaders. It serves as an innovative model for collaboration between governmental, private, and non-profit sectors in the field of community healthcare. Dr. Adel Al Shameri, Emirati heart surgeon and CEO of the Zayed Giving initiative, stated that the intensification of clinic operations coincides with the 'Year of the Community' and aims to recruit and train medical professionals to empower them to play their humanitarian role in serving underprivileged communities. He explained that the UAE-Pakistan medical programme is based on four key pillars: the Pakistan Readiness Programme to train frontline medical workers, the operation of mobile clinics, the organisation of scientific forums for knowledge exchange in community medicine, and the development of young medical leaders to ensure the sustainability of healthcare programmes. Sultan Al Khayal, Secretary-General of the Sharjah Charity House, emphasised that the mobile clinics are a practical solution for residents of remote villages who find it difficult to access hospitals. He noted that the 2025 plan includes coverage of over 20 Pakistani villages as part of a sustainable operational strategy. Dr. Mumtaz Al Balooshi, Medical Director of the UAE-Pakistan Mobile Clinics, said the clinics focus on early detection programmes and free treatment, especially for chronic heart diseases. He confirmed that cooperation between Emirati and Pakistani medical teams contributes to delivering effective healthcare services to low-income patients. Al Jouri Al Ajmi, Director of the Emirates Programme for Young Humanitarian Leaders, stated that work is underway to expand the geographic coverage of the clinics and the field hospital to reach more villages, in collaboration with local partners and the UAE Embassy in Pakistan. Residents of the Pakistani villages expressed their gratitude for the UAE's efforts in providing free healthcare, praising the quality of services that have alleviated their suffering. They affirmed that this initiative embodies the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as the UAE's wise leadership continues to promote a global culture of humanitarian and volunteer work. Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
Khaleej Times
20-05-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
Look: UAE to send two shipping containers turned into health clinics to Guinea-Bissau
Two shipping containers converted into mobile clinics in the UAE and will be shipped to Guinea-Bissau this week, a company director told Khaleej Times, in an effort to provide people living in remote places with much-needed health assistance. The clinics were built at Dubai's Jebel Ali port from standard 20ft cargo containers and are fully equipped with medical facilities, according Intertrade International Services (IIS). IIS is the company manufacturing these clinics and it will ship four similar units in total to the West African nation, with the other two manufactured in Europe. The mobile clinic includes everything one would find in a standard facility, with a water purification system, a patient bed, a storage area, and even a hydraulic lift on the side to lift people on wheelchairs. 'These clinics are mobile systems that can go to the people who do not have that opportunity to go,' Gianfranco Esposito, managing director of IIS, said. 'It will be moving in areas where people don't manage to get to hospitals.' He added that the host country, Guinea-Bissau, requested for the clinics via the World Health Organization. The last similar mission by IIS included the delivery of nine medical mobile clinics to Port Sudan, an eastern Sudanese city. They included seven 40ft containers and two 20ft containers which were turned into clinics, with the former accommodating a separate compartment for infants, children, pregnant women, and a medical laboratory clinic. IIS works mainly with the UN to provide humanitarian aid, vehicles, logistics, etc. It has offices in the UAE, Switzerland, and Italy. The mobile was showcased at the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference, a three-day event that took place from April 29 to May 1.
LBCI
09-05-2025
- General
- LBCI
Georges Kettaneh tells LBCI: Lebanese Red Cross fully prepared but warns of declining international support amid global crises
Lebanese Red Cross Secretary-General Georges Kettaneh told LBCI that the organization always remains fully prepared. Speaking on LBCI's "Nharkom Said" TV show, he said volunteers undergo intensive training and are subject to monitoring and accountability, adding that every mission is evaluated after it ends. He explained that the ongoing internal fundraising campaign—conducted through on-the-ground efforts—supports the Red Cross branches, noting that local branches rely on assistance from the central office to carry out their work. Kettaneh acknowledged that while the Red Cross continues receiving international support, growing concerns exist that this aid could decline amid global crises. He said planning is underway in coordination with the broader international movement to ensure future missions remain effective. He also noted that the Red Cross operates five mobile clinics in southern Lebanon and four in the north, including Akkar, and emphasized that their services are provided to all who need them, regardless of nationality. He concluded by saying the biggest challenge remains ensuring safe access during humanitarian missions.
