Peter Benjamin is the coordinator for Capacity Building for the mHealth Alliance, and is currently based in Cape Town. Previously he was managing director of Cell-Life ( www.cell-life.org), South Africa. Professional interests: Using mobile technology to provide access to health information and services for the majority. In countries like South Africa, 90% of youth and adults have a cellphone. However, this is not well used as a channel to access healthcare. Mobile tech can become a way to get healthcare information that allows people to manage their own health (and their families). Mobile can also be the first point of contact with the health system – for health promotion & disease prevention; general health information and queries; triage services when there is a problem; linking & referral to health facilities; self-managed care for chronic conditions; maternal & child support; community monitoring of the health system.
