Mobile Health Summit Attracts Leaders in Wireless Health to Cape Town in June 2011

LONDON, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The GSMA and mHealth Alliance today announced speakers for the GSMA-mHA Mobile Health Summit, which will be held 6-9 June 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

The agenda features thought-leading conference sessions addressing a broad range of areas such as 'Mobile Health for Capacity Building'; 'Parallels and Diversities in Mobile Health between Emerging and Developed Countries'; 'Privacy and Security of Mobile Health'; 'Compliance and Medical Adherence around Non-Communicable Diseases' and 'Mobile Health Solutions along the Continuum of Care for Maternal Health.

The summit, jointly developed by the GSMA and mHealth Alliance and co-organised with Continua Health Alliance, includes visionary presentations and speeches from leaders across the mobile ecosystem, such as:

    
    Keynote speakers include:
    -- Prof. Krishnan Ganapathy, President, Apollo Telemedicine Networking
       Foundation
    -- Christian de Faria, Senior Vice President of Commercial & Innovation,
       MTN Group
    -- Lyse Brillouet, Head of Strategy & Marketing, Orange Healthcare
    -- Pramod Gaur, Vice President Telehealth, United Health Group


    Other executives participating in the conference programme include:
    -- Seyyal Hacibekiroglu, Coordinator of Acibadem Homecare and
       Telemedicine, Acibadem Healthcare Group
    -- Dr. Patricia Mechael, Director of Strategic Application of Mobile
       Technology for Public Health and Development, Center for Global Health 
       and Economic Development, Columbia University
    -- Chuck Parker , Executive Director, Continua Alliance
    -- Dr. Jonathan Broomberg, CEO, Discovery Health Group
    -- Steve Ollis, Deputy Country Director - Tanzania, D-Tree International
    -- Chris Crockford, Founder, Formula Innovation
    -- Lisa Russell, Producer/Director, Governess Films
    -- Dr. Kristin Tolle, Director, Natural User Interactions, Microsoft
    -- Ian Puttersgill, Director, Montana Healthcare Solutions
    -- Adesina Iluyemi, Co-Chair, Global Health Commission , NEPAD
    -- Fredrik H. Winsnes, Health and M&E Program Director, NetHope
    -- Dr. Martina Flammer, Senior Director, Pfizer Inc.
    -- Clint McClellan, Sr. Director Business Development, Qualcomm
    -- Ramon R. Isberto, Head of Public Affairs Group , SMART Communications
    -- Anand Iyer, President and Chief Operating Officer, Welldoc
    -- Martha Newsome, Global Director for Health and Nutrition, World Vision

"The incredible advancement of mobile communications has created an opportunity to reduce the cost to serve, extend the reach and improve the quality of healthcare," said Gavin Krugel, Head of Mobile Health, GSMA. "Healthcare services through mobile technology have the potential to be life-changing for billions of people and the GSMA-mHA Mobile Health Summit will both facilitate discussion and showcase the latest developments and solutions in this rapidly evolving and dynamic marketplace."

"We are delighted that such a dynamic line up of innovators will be with us at this year's Mobile Health Summit," said Jennifer Potts, Director of the Maternal and Newborn Mobile Health Initiative at the mHealth Alliance. "This event will advance the discussion on how wireless technology can save lives and promote healthier communities in developing countries."

In addition to the exhibition showcase and conference, the event will offer business development opportunities for executives from across the mobile and healthcare industries and will include a premier forum for mobile health networking with C- level leaders of health service institutions, mobile operators, NGOs and solution providers, as well as regulators and policy makers.

The GSMA-mHA Mobile Health Summit offers four days of discussion, leadership and progress updates for the mobile health industry. The conference and exhibition will be held on 7-8 June, with many additional meetings, working groups and other sessions taking place on 6 and 9 June. Co-organiser, Continua Health Alliance, and event partner, iheed, the Irish-based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting innovation in health education, will develop mobile health-focused meetings and education sessions as part of the Summit on Monday, 6 June.

The GSMA will utilise its central role in the mobile industry to provide a unique opportunity for delegates and exhibitors from both industries and their wider ecosystems to interact and share experiences in a world-class environment. The event will attract a wide range of stakeholders including mobile operators, insurance groups, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, research centres, equipment manufacturers, infrastructure vendors, application developers and integrators from around the globe.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Uniting nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators and more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, the GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership and driving the growth of the mobile industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the online portal for the mobile communications industry, at http://www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at http://www.gsmworld.com.

About the mHealth Alliance (mHA)

The mHealth Alliance (mHA) mobilizes innovation to deliver quality health at the furthest reaches of wireless networks and mobile devices. Working with diverse partners, the mHA advances mHealth through research, advocacy, and support for the development of interoperable solutions and sustainable deployment models. The mHA sponsors innovation challenges and conferences, leads cross-sector mHealth initiatives, and hosts HUB (Health UnBound), a global online community for resource sharing and collaborative solution generation. Hosted by the United Nations Foundation, and founded by the UN, Rockefeller, and Vodafone Foundations, the mHA now also includes PEPFAR, HP, and the GSM Association among its founding partners. www.mhealthalliance.org

Information about the GSMA-mHA Mobile Health Summit can be found at http://www.mobilehealthsummit.com.

Editor's note: For speaker updates, conference agenda, and to register as press for the GSMA-mHA Mobile Health Summit, please visit: http://www.mobilehealthsummit.com.

The GSMA has adopted the term Mobile Health to describe any health or wellness related information, service, application or device that relies on mobile communication technology in its delivery, and is accessed through the mobile network. This includes devices embedded with SIM technology, mobile monitoring and data collection of health-related indicators, SMS-based advocacy and awareness campaigns, wellness and health applications, remote monitoring and diagnosis and the provision of broadband and data capabilities.