Global mobile industry body, the GSMA, and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have listed four ways that handsets could change people’s lives in developing countries.

According to a report from the two organisations, mobile could help boost advancements in areas such as health, the automotive industry, education and smart cities over the next five years in developing nations.

“The mobile industry needs to continue collaborating with governments and key industry sectors to deliver products and services that help people improve their businesses and societies,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer, GSMA.

The ways mobile could help developing nations is listed below:

1. Mobile Health (mHealth): mHealth is expected to save one million lives in sub-Saharan Africa: According to the report, greater use of mobile phones in this region could help the fight against malaria, TB, HIV and perinatal conditions between now and 2017.

2. Mobile Automotive (mAutomotive): The use of mobile phones to track trucks, optimise fleet performance and monitor the temperature of storage facilities could save enough food to feed 40 million people, the size of the Kenyan population.

3. Mobile Education (mEducation): For developing nations, mEducation could result in 180 million students having the opportunity to stay in education over the next five years.

4. Smart Cities: Smart transport systems in developing countries could help reduce people’s commuting hours by 35%, giving them back a whole week each year.