Paratus Zambia Installs Starlink in 250 Health Facilities

In Short

Paratus Zambia has deployed Starlink connectivity across 250 health facilities in Luapula, Muchinga and Northern provinces through a partnership with Right to Care Zambia.

The connectivity is being used to support digital healthcare delivery in remote communities and the roll-out of Zambia’s SmartCare Electronic Health Record system.

What Happened: How Paratus Zambia And Right To Care Zambia Set Up Connectivity

Paratus Zambia, part of the Paratus Group, says it has deployed Starlink connectivity across 250 health facilities in three provinces in Zambia.

The work is being done through a partnership with Right to Care Zambia (RTCZ), a non-governmental organisation with expertise across the HIV and TB case-finding and treatment spectrum.

According to the announcement, the programme is supported by the US Department of State. It uses Paratus Essential Access to provide connectivity to facilities that previously had limited or no access to stable digital infrastructure.

The connectivity supports the roll-out of Zambia’s SmartCare Electronic Health Record (EHR) System. An EHR is a digital patient file that replaces paper records. SmartCare is implemented by the Smart Zambia Institute and the Ministry of Health, and it supports real-time capture and retrieval of patient information.

RTCZ Head of IT Paul Chinyemba said: “Reliable connectivity is not a solution in itself but it is an essential enabler of life-saving healthcare services.” He added that stable internet access helps healthcare workers use SmartCare to support HIV treatment programmes, improve continuity of care and ensure timely interventions.

Paratus Zambia Country Manager Neill Nortje said: “Reliable, uninterrupted LEO connectivity enables healthcare facilities in remote areas to access the digital systems they need.” LEO refers to low Earth orbit satellite internet.

Why It Matters: Digital Health Records Need Stable Links

As facilities moved from paper to digital systems, the announcement says increased data usage created connectivity challenges at some sites.

Paratus Zambia and RTCZ said they responded by moving these facilities to the Paratus Essential Access Solution plan. This removed data bundle thresholds and improved connectivity stability.

Paratus Zambia and RTCZ also said the experience gained is helping refine connectivity planning, data management and technical support, with the aim of creating a scalable model for digital healthcare enablement across Zambia and potentially other regions.