Announcements

The position
We are looking for a highly motivated and skilled social scientist/ policy researcher for the project “Bits, bytes and bodies: Local innovation and digital healthcare in Tanzania.” The project is a collaboration between the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the Centre for Development and the Environment at the University of Oslo, Norway, funded by the Research Council of Norway and led by Dr. Tom Neumark and Dr. Vendelin Simon.
Background
The WHO says harnessing the power of digital technologies is essential to achieve universal health coverage. Recently, there have been large investments in the development of digital technology to improve healthcare in low- and lower middle income countries. However, there are concerns that high costs, weak regulations and design that is poorly suited to local social and cultural contexts challenge the potential of the digital revolution to improve health equity. These concerns have led to global initiatives to foster ‘local innovation’ to meet the needs of end-users and health systems rather than those of outside foreign experts or private investors. The research project seeks to understand the meaning and practice of ‘local innovation’ in the design, governance and use of digital health technologies, focusing on Tanzania. The candidate will contribute to a study of the governance of digital health in Tanzania, working in close collaboration with Dr. Katerini T. Storeng and the rest of the project team This involves conducting qualitative policy research to analyse how Tanzanian government institutions work with international partners and investors to develop and implement Tanzania’s digital health strategy and to promote, facilitate and build local capacity for digital health innovation. More information can be found at: www.sum.uio.no/english/research/projects/bits-bytes-and-bodies

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