The journey to the capital city of Amman can be daunting for rural Jordanians who require specialty medical care—people like Haifa Abd-El Karim Omoush.
The 34-year-old married mother of five suffers from a treatable cardiac condition. Her local doctor at Al-Mafraq Governmental Hospital in rural northeast Jordan referred her to a cardiac specialist in Amman to confirm his diagnosis and define a treatment plan.
But Haifa missed or postponed critical appointments with the cardiologist because she had no one to care for her children and could not afford to travel to the hospital. Her condition deteriorated.
Haifa’s experience is common in many parts of the world where specialists are in short supply. But now, technology is helping to close this gap in healthcare access.
Healthcare is transforming rapidly thanks to advances in technology and people working together. This evolution was obvious in Jordan last week, when the inaugural meeting of the country’s Healthcare ICT Task Force took place in conjunction with the World Economic Forum Jordan.
The task force is a collaboration between the King Abdullah II Fund for Development, the Information Technology Association of Jordan (inj@j), and Cisco, and it points to the country’s vision to become a regional hub for ICT solutions in the healthcare sector. Read More »
In October of 2010, Cisco and the Jordanian Government formally announced the Jordan Healthcare Initiative; a partnership to improve the country’s healthcare system through the implementation of information and communications technology (ICT).
We are proud to announce the first step in this partnership, a pilot of Cisco’s HealthPresence solution, was opened in June of 2011. The HealthPresence solution, donated by Cisco, provides care-at-a distance technology for patents at Al-Mafraq Governmental Hospital with specialized physicians at Prince Hamzah Hospital in Amman. Read More »
“This trip was worth everything I left behind for it. Now I have 36 sisters.” Thekra Dwairi is one of 37 women to participate in the inaugural TechWomen program funded by theU.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). The programpaired women in Silicon Valley with their counterparts in the Middle East and North Africa for a professional mentorship and exchange program at leading technology companies.
Cisco had the honor of hosting the closing session for this 5 week program at its San Jose, CA headquarters. Each of the mentees presented their key technical and cultural learnings as well as their action plans for when they returned to their home countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, West Bank and Gaza.
Loubna Haouam discusses her goals upon returning to Algeria: exchanging knowledge, encouraging women to learn English and providing computer access
The mentees ranged widely in terms of their backgrounds. Some work for international corporations, while others are local start-up founders. Some are world travelers. One woman mentioned that this is her first time out of her hometown! It was humbling to hear about the challenges these women manage on a day-to-day basis. Just applying for the TechWomen program was a challenge for Egyptian participants. The application deadline, February 1, was at the same time that the government shut down the internet—happily, an extension was provided. Read More »
