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Inclusive Information Society - Challenges from a South African Rural Primary Healthcare Perspective

The European mandate for an inclusive information society is aimed at providing an environment that enables the billions of people who are at risk of exclusion at the “bottom of the pyramid” (BOP) to participate in an information society for all. Most organizations in Europe have realized that the fortune lies at the BOP. However, several challenges remain a stumbling block for those who want to exploit the opportunity at the BOP. This paper outlines such challenges looking at a rural South African primary healthcare context. The challenges described herein are “first-hand” experience and were encountered in a pilot project implemented in three rural primary healthcare clinics situated in the Mpumalanga province in South Africa. The paper concludes by providing recommendations on how to address the challenges in order to achieve a truly global information society that is fully inclusive. Keywords-Inclusive information society; bottom of the pyramid; information security; primary healthcare; rural communities