Monday, September 22, 2003
Digital Solidarity Fund
By Rebecca Wanjiku in Geneva
Africa could move along way towards bridging the digital divide within the next two years if an ambitious solidarity fund championed by the New Partnership for development (NEPAD) is adopted by the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) preparatory committee.
The Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) aims to benefit both countries of the north and south. Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade will supervise the fund bringing together African governments, the private sector and civil society to operate voluntarily within the framework of a digital solidarity charter.
Developed nations have given the DSF a lukewarm reception as they see it as an extra burden on their citizens who already contribute to existing multilateral and bilateral funds.
The Fund is expected to draw its strength from both the north and south. NEPAD feels that it will have universal benefits since access to ICTs calls for massive investments. “Northern governments say they can not enter into new strategies because the already existing ones have not been exhausted. But after intense discussions officials from Japan and United States of America have promised to study the proposal and give their feedback,” said Malik Ndiaye, Technical and Information counselor with the Senegalese government.
To fund its activities, Ndiaye said that the DSF will rely on contributions from computer and network equipment manufacturers, software developers, telecommunication operators, and other contributors. For this reason, northern governments believe the Fund as an unfair taxation strategy and therefore oppose it.
Ndiaye says, however, that the whole exercise would be voluntary and unwilling companies will not be compelled to contribute. He argues that Africa will have to design mechanisms to raise money and finance the Fund.
Diana Mercorios, regional programme manager for ABANTU, agrees that the concept is good but disagrees with the strategy. She says that the proponents of the Fund have not elaborated on how they are going to raise money from the companies or how the fund would operate. ABANTU is a civil society organization dealing with developmental issues in Africa.
“The European Union will definitely be opposed to the idea because they have other existing funding streams. Furthermore, their priority may be in areas such as health and education as opposed to ICTs,” she said.
George Muwanguzi from Uganda thought that it would be better for NEPAD to exhaust the existing bilateral and multilateral funds from northern governments.
Muwanguzi, a United Nations employee in Kampala felt that the proposal had serious tax implications and must be clearly evaluated before implementation.
He said that it was doubtful whether western governments would support the initiative. He added, “NEPAD is willing to proceed with the initiative without the northern governments. It is acknowledged that Africa is lagging behind and we need to bridge the gap”.
The third WSIS preparatory committee started on September 15 and by the end of this week, government representatives and civil society are expected to come up with a more refined draft declaration and an action plan ready for ratification in the main summit in December. Highway Africa News Agency
Ends
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By Rebecca Wanjiku in Geneva
Africa could move along way towards bridging the digital divide within the next two years if an ambitious solidarity fund championed by the New Partnership for development (NEPAD) is adopted by the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) preparatory committee.
The Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) aims to benefit both countries of the north and south. Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade will supervise the fund bringing together African governments, the private sector and civil society to operate voluntarily within the framework of a digital solidarity charter.
Developed nations have given the DSF a lukewarm reception as they see it as an extra burden on their citizens who already contribute to existing multilateral and bilateral funds.
The Fund is expected to draw its strength from both the north and south. NEPAD feels that it will have universal benefits since access to ICTs calls for massive investments. “Northern governments say they can not enter into new strategies because the already existing ones have not been exhausted. But after intense discussions officials from Japan and United States of America have promised to study the proposal and give their feedback,” said Malik Ndiaye, Technical and Information counselor with the Senegalese government.
To fund its activities, Ndiaye said that the DSF will rely on contributions from computer and network equipment manufacturers, software developers, telecommunication operators, and other contributors. For this reason, northern governments believe the Fund as an unfair taxation strategy and therefore oppose it.
Ndiaye says, however, that the whole exercise would be voluntary and unwilling companies will not be compelled to contribute. He argues that Africa will have to design mechanisms to raise money and finance the Fund.
Diana Mercorios, regional programme manager for ABANTU, agrees that the concept is good but disagrees with the strategy. She says that the proponents of the Fund have not elaborated on how they are going to raise money from the companies or how the fund would operate. ABANTU is a civil society organization dealing with developmental issues in Africa.
“The European Union will definitely be opposed to the idea because they have other existing funding streams. Furthermore, their priority may be in areas such as health and education as opposed to ICTs,” she said.
George Muwanguzi from Uganda thought that it would be better for NEPAD to exhaust the existing bilateral and multilateral funds from northern governments.
Muwanguzi, a United Nations employee in Kampala felt that the proposal had serious tax implications and must be clearly evaluated before implementation.
He said that it was doubtful whether western governments would support the initiative. He added, “NEPAD is willing to proceed with the initiative without the northern governments. It is acknowledged that Africa is lagging behind and we need to bridge the gap”.
The third WSIS preparatory committee started on September 15 and by the end of this week, government representatives and civil society are expected to come up with a more refined draft declaration and an action plan ready for ratification in the main summit in December. Highway Africa News Agency
Ends
e-project boosts Ugandan healthcare delivery
Wairagala Wakabi
September 22, 2003
An innovative project is to give Ugandan health workers access to medical information via a wireless network. Canadian companies launched the venture in an effort to improve healthcare delivery in Uganda.
The project architects say the nationwide network will improve Uganda's ability to treat patients and combat the spread of disease. The technology allows health care workers to access and share critical information in remote facilities without fixed telephone lines or regular access to electricity.
"This is going to be a giant leap forward for Ugandan health care. It could save thousands of lives and have significant benefits in health outcomes for Uganda's citizens," said Holly Ladd, Executive Director of SATELLIFE, a non-profit organisation that works to improve health in developing countries.
Ladd said the project will provide health practitioners in the field with tools that were previously unavailable or outdated. For instance, users can now access the latest treatment guidelines for tuberculosis and malaria and learn about the most cost-effective approaches of fighting HIV/Aids. They can also read digital versions of the latest medical journals and textbooks from around the world.
The technology should also improve health care administration by reducing the time taken to submit, analyse and respond to reports and requests for supplies. Traditionally, handwritten reports and drug shipment requests took weeks to reach Kampala, where they would wait for a few more weeks while data was analysed and formatted so as to be useful to administrators. Under the new scheme information can be acted upon on the day after submission, and manual error is dramatically reduced.
SATELLIFE is jointly running the project with the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and WideRay, a wireless technology company based in San Francisco, USA. Connectivity Africa, a Canadian government initiative managed by IDRC and funded from Canada's Fund for Africa, has contributed funds to the development of the information network.
The system uses MTN's cellular phone network, cheap handheld computers and wireless servers called "Jacks." The servers, which are no bigger than a thick textbook, use long-lasting batteries, and are now being installed in health care facilities across Uganda.
Health workers can link to the device using the infrared port on their handheld computers to retrieve or submit information, and to access email.
Uganda's wireless health care initiative is an expansion of SATELLIFE trials with personal digital assistants (PDAs), or handheld computers, that began in 2001. The projects concluded that PDAs, which can be used in environments where computers are impractical, are powerful tools that can provide critical, timely information to African health workers.
The PDAs were found to be especially useful in health administration, ordering and tracking medical supplies, as well as delivering new treatment guidelines. Each Jack stores content sent to it from the central computers in Kampala and, in turn, relays reports and emails received from the PDAs back to the centre.
A central wireless server has been installed in Kampala, and it is linked to computer systems at the Ministry of Health, and at HealthNet Uganda, a local SATELLIFE affiliate housed at Makerere University. The server manages the entire network and communicates with "Jacks" in the field over commercial cellular phone networks (GSM).
"We're rapidly approaching the point where GSM coverage is ubiquitous in Uganda and other parts of the developing world," said Erik Van Veen, Marketing Manager of MTN Uganda. "WideRay's architecture could benefit an enormous number of industries even outside of health care."
Dr. Nelson Sewankambo, Dean of Makerere University Medical School said many of the users of the system have never used a computer before, let alone had connectivity to this kind of information. "When they see how empowering this data can be at the point of care, they are instantly hooked." The medical school was one of the first locations to be brought 'live' on to the wireless system.
"The convergence of new technologies, low-cost handhelds, broad and reliable wireless coverage and WideRay's innovative use of it have made applications that once seemed impossible in Africa a reality," said Richard Fuchs, Director of IDRC's Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) program area. "This project will be a powerful example to the rest of the world of what is possible with wireless technology."
Since most remote villages in the developing world lack easy access to hospitals and medical centres, telemedicine and digitised health information is increasingly being seen as crucial in helping millions of rural citizens improve their lives. The Internet, CD-ROMs, digital cameras, and electronic databases, are being used in e-health projects to provide doctors and patients with the resources and information to increase the well being of citizens on the periphery of the global society.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is implementing a project to bridge the digital divide in health, which will among other things, work with academia, private sector and local partners to create an Internet portal that will give marginalised groups access to high-quality and relevant information. Where possible, the information will be made available in local languages.
The project seeks to establish over 10,000 Internet access sites over the next seven years. The WHO says it will work closely with NGOs and local partners to implement, manage and maintain the Internet sites. - Ends
Wairagala Wakabi
The EastAfrican
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Wairagala Wakabi
September 22, 2003
An innovative project is to give Ugandan health workers access to medical information via a wireless network. Canadian companies launched the venture in an effort to improve healthcare delivery in Uganda.
The project architects say the nationwide network will improve Uganda's ability to treat patients and combat the spread of disease. The technology allows health care workers to access and share critical information in remote facilities without fixed telephone lines or regular access to electricity.
"This is going to be a giant leap forward for Ugandan health care. It could save thousands of lives and have significant benefits in health outcomes for Uganda's citizens," said Holly Ladd, Executive Director of SATELLIFE, a non-profit organisation that works to improve health in developing countries.
Ladd said the project will provide health practitioners in the field with tools that were previously unavailable or outdated. For instance, users can now access the latest treatment guidelines for tuberculosis and malaria and learn about the most cost-effective approaches of fighting HIV/Aids. They can also read digital versions of the latest medical journals and textbooks from around the world.
The technology should also improve health care administration by reducing the time taken to submit, analyse and respond to reports and requests for supplies. Traditionally, handwritten reports and drug shipment requests took weeks to reach Kampala, where they would wait for a few more weeks while data was analysed and formatted so as to be useful to administrators. Under the new scheme information can be acted upon on the day after submission, and manual error is dramatically reduced.
SATELLIFE is jointly running the project with the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and WideRay, a wireless technology company based in San Francisco, USA. Connectivity Africa, a Canadian government initiative managed by IDRC and funded from Canada's Fund for Africa, has contributed funds to the development of the information network.
The system uses MTN's cellular phone network, cheap handheld computers and wireless servers called "Jacks." The servers, which are no bigger than a thick textbook, use long-lasting batteries, and are now being installed in health care facilities across Uganda.
Health workers can link to the device using the infrared port on their handheld computers to retrieve or submit information, and to access email.
Uganda's wireless health care initiative is an expansion of SATELLIFE trials with personal digital assistants (PDAs), or handheld computers, that began in 2001. The projects concluded that PDAs, which can be used in environments where computers are impractical, are powerful tools that can provide critical, timely information to African health workers.
The PDAs were found to be especially useful in health administration, ordering and tracking medical supplies, as well as delivering new treatment guidelines. Each Jack stores content sent to it from the central computers in Kampala and, in turn, relays reports and emails received from the PDAs back to the centre.
A central wireless server has been installed in Kampala, and it is linked to computer systems at the Ministry of Health, and at HealthNet Uganda, a local SATELLIFE affiliate housed at Makerere University. The server manages the entire network and communicates with "Jacks" in the field over commercial cellular phone networks (GSM).
"We're rapidly approaching the point where GSM coverage is ubiquitous in Uganda and other parts of the developing world," said Erik Van Veen, Marketing Manager of MTN Uganda. "WideRay's architecture could benefit an enormous number of industries even outside of health care."
Dr. Nelson Sewankambo, Dean of Makerere University Medical School said many of the users of the system have never used a computer before, let alone had connectivity to this kind of information. "When they see how empowering this data can be at the point of care, they are instantly hooked." The medical school was one of the first locations to be brought 'live' on to the wireless system.
"The convergence of new technologies, low-cost handhelds, broad and reliable wireless coverage and WideRay's innovative use of it have made applications that once seemed impossible in Africa a reality," said Richard Fuchs, Director of IDRC's Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) program area. "This project will be a powerful example to the rest of the world of what is possible with wireless technology."
Since most remote villages in the developing world lack easy access to hospitals and medical centres, telemedicine and digitised health information is increasingly being seen as crucial in helping millions of rural citizens improve their lives. The Internet, CD-ROMs, digital cameras, and electronic databases, are being used in e-health projects to provide doctors and patients with the resources and information to increase the well being of citizens on the periphery of the global society.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is implementing a project to bridge the digital divide in health, which will among other things, work with academia, private sector and local partners to create an Internet portal that will give marginalised groups access to high-quality and relevant information. Where possible, the information will be made available in local languages.
The project seeks to establish over 10,000 Internet access sites over the next seven years. The WHO says it will work closely with NGOs and local partners to implement, manage and maintain the Internet sites. - Ends
Wairagala Wakabi
The EastAfrican
