APPROPRIATE HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES

Solomon C. Nwaneri, PhD, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria. E-mail: snwaneri@unilag.edu.ng

Health technologies are generally manufactured in the highly industrialized countries of the world. Most often, these technologies are often designed with existing realities in developed countries without due consideration to the peculiar realities of developed countries.

Many developing countries are generally poor and lack the resources to provide basic and advanced health technologies in most of their hospitals. Most often, they rely on donations of obsolete and fairly used medical devices from developed countries. These medical devices may not be very suitable and workable in these resource poor countries. Most often these equipment easily fail and become unusable after a short while. Hence health technologies need to be appropriate, suitable and relevant to the local environment. 

Appropriate Technologies as defined by the WHO is "methods, procedures, techniques and equipment that are scientifically valid adapted to local needs and acceptable to those who use them and to those form whom they are used" (WHO, 2004). Appropriate technologies do not necessarily mean crude technologies as the technologies must be based on sound scientific principles.

Different nations have peculiar needs which should be addressed by technologies that are locally available and relevant. Rather than purchasing obsolete and substandard  technologies, developing countries should strive to develop relevant medical devices that are suitable for them. The use of appropriate technologies will help to improve access to advanced medical care. 


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