Satellite Link Creates 1st Public Health Channel for Africa
For Immediate Release
Contact: Lisa Slifer-Mbacke, WorldSpace Foundation
Tel: 202-861-2261 www.worldspace.org
Holly Ladd, SATELLIFE Tel: 617-926-9400
[log in to unmask] 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.
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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: [log in to unmask]
http://www.healthnet.org
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