7 Journal of Electronic & Information Systems | Volume 03 | Issue 01 | April 2021 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 https://doi.org/10.30564/jeisr.v3i1.3440 Journal of Electronic & Information Systems https://ojs.bilpublishing.com/index.php/jeis BRIEF REPORT An Integrated Emergency Response Tool for Developing Countries: Case of Uganda Swaib Kyanda Kaawaase * Rodney Ekisa Simon Networks Department, College of Computing and Information Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history Received: 8 July 2021 Accepted: 12 July 2021 Published Online: 16 July 2021 This paper presents a First responder emergency response tool (EMApp) as a step towards achieving integrated emergency care in developing coun- tries, the case of Uganda. The EMApp prototype has potential to support health emergency response from various emergency stakeholders. This innovation is in line with strategic plans to embrace technologies towards the establishment of integrated social services such as emergency health- care services (EHS) in Uganda. We describe the prototype and provide its functionalities that can be further enhanced to enable access to emergency services and save life. The possible assumptions, potential challenges and recommendations to implement and deployment of such a system are pro- vided. There is currently no such integrated emergency response system in Uganda as is the case in many other developing countries. For future stud- ies, there is need to deploy the tool and assess its impact on the communi- ties. Keywords: Emergency-response E-health E-infrastructure E-service Health-care *Corresponding Author: Swaib Kyanda Kaawaase, Networks Department, College of Computing and Information Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Email: kswaibk@gmail.com 1. Introduction Developing countries like Uganda face many chal- lenges including poor (internet) infrastructure, unreliable power supply, and others which hinder the accessibility to (health, social or judicial) services. Public health systems in such developing countries are underfunded, under- staffed, and struggling to deal with emergencies [1] . Non-the- less mobile technologies have gained trust among communi- ties and are being applied in various disciplines [2,3] including as health assistants and as financial transaction medium/ platforms. A good health system is one that responds well with emergencies, notably, the best health care systems global- ly [4,5] emphasize speed of access to health care and equi- tability of such access. Notably, no African health system is ranked among the first 50 best global health systems as of 2019 where South Africa ranks 53 rd position [4] . Many Ugandans loose lives due to the ill state of health care access infrastructure especially in areas outside the cities and the remote. The current growth in information communication technologies (ICT) and their wide uptake among the com- munities in developing countries offers a wide potential to enhance access to social services including emergency response services although less of such technologies have been utilized for access to emergency health care services (EHS) in the developing countries. On the other hand, in the developed world, customized apps and devices provide a range of services from health management to cost effective health care services at the patients’ convenience [6] . Emer- gency care systems have the potential to avert half of all