channel for entire African continent
Message-Id: <4.3.1.2.20000517151031.00d9b8c0@satserv1.healthnet.org>
Sender: owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org
Precedence: bulk
E-drug: Worldspace Foundation, Satellife create first public health channel
for entire African continent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Lisa Slifer-Mbacke, WorldSpace Foundation
Tel: 202-861-2261
www.worldspace.org
Holly Ladd, SATELLIFE
Tel: 617-926-9400
www.healthnet.org
WORLDSPACE FOUNDATION, SATELLIFE CREATE FIRST PUBLIC HEALTH CHANNEL FOR
ENTIRE AFRICAN CONTINENT
New Satellite Information Service Will Assist In Fight Against AIDS,
Other Diseases In Africa
Washington, DC (May 17, 2000) - WorldSpace Foundation and SATELLIFE
announced today the launch of a new health service that will provide a
steady stream of material to assist medical professionals in Africa in
the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases that are ravaging
the continent. This unique new service, called the Public Health
Channel, will overcome the barriers of poverty, geography, and
unreliable communications infrastructures to help stop the decimation
and maiming of Africa's population from such diseases as HIV/AIDS,
malaria, and tuberculosis.
"WorldSpace Foundation is very pleased to join forces with SATELLIFE on
this important undertaking. The ability to widely disseminate
information about the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS and other
diseases is the very reason the WorldSpace system was created," said
Gracia Hillman, WorldSpace Foundation president and CEO. "After seeing
the effect of information scarcity on the AIDS epidemic in Africa,
WorldSpace founder Noah Samara became committed to creating a new form
of media for the sake of sharing life-saving knowledge with underserved
populations." Noah Samara is currently the chairman and CEO of
WorldSpace Corporation and member of the Board of Directors of
WorldSpace Foundation.
"The goal of SATELLIFE's information services is to connect the health
practitioner in the developing world with a range of high-quality
information resources in a cost-effective manner, by making use of the
most affordable, efficient and appropriate technology," stated SATELLIFE
executive director, Holly Ladd. "The Public Health Channel will employ
the technology of the WorldSpace system to exponentially increase the
amount of information health practitioners throughout Africa can access
- information that most health practitioners in the United States and
Europe take for granted."
The Public Health Channel will be launched in four countries: Zimbabwe,
Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. After an initial testing period, the
project will expand to other African countries as funding becomes
available. "We are limited only by our resources," said Ms. Ladd. "We
envision a time in the near future when the Public Health Channel is
available to every doctor and nurse throughout Africa, no matter how
remote their location." WorldSpace receivers will be placed in
hospitals, medical schools, medical libraries, health clinics, health
ministries and research settings.
WorldSpace receivers provide crystal clear digital audio channels, and
can also serve as a modem, downloading text-based material and dynamic
images from the AfriStar? satellite directly to computers. The
WorldSpace system transcends the difficulties of unreliable telephone
systems at a fraction of the cost of most Internet-based projects.
"WorldSpace Foundation is the embodiment of the WorldSpace network's
commitment to social development and humanitarianism," said Ms.
Hillman. "We work with NGOs and other humanitarian groups to bring
important, life-saving information to people who are disadvantaged by
poverty, rural location and the digital divide."
SATELLIFE is an international not-for-profit humanitarian organization
whose mission is to improve health by enhancing connectivity among
professionals in the field via electronic communications and exchanges
of information in the areas of public health, medicine, and the
environment. A special emphasis is placed on areas of the world where
poor communications, economic conditions, or natural disasters limit
access. SATELLIFE produces two e-mail publications, HealthNet News and
HealthNet News-AIDS, which features copyrighted material with permission
from 21 medical publishers, and includes distinguished journals as the
British Medical Journal, The Lancet and East African Medical Journal,
and others. SATELLIFE also operates and maintains several global
electronic discussion groups on topics of relevance to the developing
world.
WorldSpace Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created in
1997. Headquartered in Washington, DC, its work encompasses Africa,
Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. WorldSpace Foundation has
5% of the channel capacity on the three WorldSpace Corporation
satellites for non-commercial social development and distance learning
programming.
------------------------------------------------------------
Robin Brett Parnes, M.P.H.
Information Officer
SATELLIFE
30 California Street
Watertown, MA 02472 USA
Telephone: +617.926.9400
Fax: +617.926.1212
Email: rbp@usa.healthnet.org
http://www.healthnet.org
--
Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.