Drought in Naroosara, Kenya

Guardian blog on mobiles in Africa

Are mobile phones Africa's silver bullet?

Whether it's checking market prices of crops, transferring money or simply making a call, mobile phones are transforming Africa. But could this new technology end up bypassing the poorest?

Link to blog

Images from Tanzania

Return from Tanzania

We have just returned from a week in Tanzania to discuss the use of mobile phones for animal and human disease surveillance. The first part of the visit involved a workshop organised by the Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance in Arusha. This was followed by meetings and field visits with Vetaid in the Ngorongoro Crater Area.

Vetaid project in Siminjaro, Tanzania

This work has been funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and includes the development of disease surveillance tools running on Android based mobile phones and the creation of educational content which can be accessed on the phone itself.

 Delegates at the Arusha Conference

This work is being carried out in partnership with Imperial College, the London Knowledge Lab, the London International Development Centre and the RVC e-Media Unit.

Educational veterinary videos on the mobile

We have been working on creating a range of veterinary educational videos in Swahilli. Here is an early example: