On 19 May, the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced the launch of its eHealth award, which recognizes the best Authentic African ICT solutions in health. Since then, with the registration for the award now closed, 116 African health professionals, academics, NGOs and innovators have submitted their ideas and ongoing projects.

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 49 percent of maternal deaths, half of under-five child mortality deaths, and 67 percent of HIV/AIDS cases. While there has been overall progress towards the Millennium Development Goals on Health in the last decade, it has been varied and unequal. The use of information and communication technologies in the health sector, known as eHealth, is an appealing solution to addressing many of the health challenges faced in Africa. However interventions have largely remained small in scale and there is a lack of evidence-based knowledge on effectiveness, sustainability and best practices in eHealth.

The eHealth Award aims to document what is being done in the field of e- and m-health in Africa, encourage the production and sharing of evidence on eHealth solutions and and provide added value through the sharing of lessons learnt in e- and m-health.

The criteria and focus of the award is centered on using ICT to increase access to health services, particularly for the poor and marginalized, using ICT to increase the utilization of essential health services and/or the evaluation of eHealth solutions to improve efficiency in the delivery of health services.

Those candidates shortlisted for the prize will have until the end of October to produce a project report of their eHealth solution. Short-listed candidates and winners will be announced on the AfDB website.