The international mobile industry association, GSMA, has announced government's plans for National Health Insurance (NHI) to offer business opportunities to cell phones companies. For the same, the GSMA will be conducting a mobile health conference in Cape Town. During the conference the role of technology in addressing the healthcare needs of developed and emerging economies will be discussed.

As per the announcement, it appears that there will be scope for mobile operators to enter into public-private partnerships through the concept of mHealth. The project will be focused upon reducing the cost of healthcare and increase access to health. In South Africa the private health expenditure amounts 21 times greater than the combined revenue of all South African mobile network operators. Moreover, it has come to light that this week's GSMA mobile health summit is expected to tackle some of the tough issues that have plagued the industry, including the challenge of expanding promising projects into sustainable businesses.

The African National Congress is hoping that NHI will help in closing the gap between the quality of healthcare available to rich and poor in SA. From the mHealth initiatives, it is thought that the healthcare in Africa will be beneficial. A prominent newspaper noted that the focus of mobile healthcare initiatives on rural people is vital because "they constitute the bulk of small-scale farmers who produce 80 percent of maize, the staple crop".