Technology can transform global health and education, but it's no silver bullet

Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Pathways

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Commission, said: "Better health and education for young people—the twin engines of what economists call "human capital"—could drive the next phase of economic progress in developing countries, but only if governments design policies to ensure technology reaches the most marginalized communities."

The commission's new report, Positive disruption: health and education in a digital age, has found that silver bullet initiatives, focusing only on technological hardware, such as introducing laptops in classrooms, are often not effective beyond the initial pilot. This is usually due to policy makers adopting a piecemeal approach, which fails to consider the wider system in which the technology is being used.

However, the research finds that by looking at entire health and education systems, and deploying technology at strategic points, countries can provide health and education that works for all.

Professor Stefan Dercon, academic director of the Pathways Commission at the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government, said: "Done right, digital investments can take advantage of technology's massive potential, but failing to harness these opportunities risks further excluding the poorest. Directing funds towards technologically-enhanced health and education systems and the right digital connectivity can unlock benefits that could be transformational for the way clinics and classrooms operate in the future."

https://phys.org/news/2019-05-technology-global-health-silver-bullet.html