Mobile operator Qtel has launched an advice service for diabetic patients in Kuwait, Iraq and Palestine which enables them to receive personalised alerts and information on exercise and diet. The company says it will soon offer the same service in other countries where it is present. Qtel holds stakes in operators across  the Middle East, North Africa and Asia including its home market of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Algeria and Indonesia.

Qtel last month teamed up with Qualcomm, which is also active in the mobile health market, and the GSMA on an initiative to highlight mobile health activities taking place in the university community.  Separately Indosat, in which Qtel holds a 65 percent stake, has already made moves into the mobile health market in Indonesia by teaming up with Alcatel-Lucent and a local university.

Representatives from Qtel’s operating companies last month met in Doha to discuss future mobile health rollouts.  The GSMA was also present. A series of future workshops are also planned by the operator with the GSMA and the mHA.