e-government services to support vaccination programmes: Libya, a successful implementation

This paper presents a case study of a novel and successful implementation of an e-government project to support the vaccination of children under 16 years old in Libya. The case study highlights some of the problems technologically developing countries face, such as lack of wider infrastructure (e.g. postal network), access to technology (e.g. access to computers and the Internet) and computer literacy. The case study also identifies some of the benefits that appropriate e-government activity can bring. The case study involves a novel approach where the Ministry of Healthcare (MH) in Libya uses SMS messaging to inform parents of a vaccination programme (including details of where and when vaccinations take place). It also makes use of 'social networks' by encouraging neighbours, relatives and friends to spread information about the vaccination programme. As such the case study is also an example of using e-government to support community interaction, social responsibility and strengthen community. The research is based on interviews with key stakeholder groups including government officials, telecommunication personnel and parents using the vaccination information services. This is supported with a wider survey covering 6 cities in Libya and with literature review. A stakeholder analysis is applied to the case study, which indicates there is a win-win situation for each of the key stakeholder groups. The paper hopes to make a contribution at a theoretical level by modelling social networks to support e-government activity in developing countries as well as on a practical level in providing implementation guidance.