Health Information Waystations proposal - Global

Conduct a comprehensive survey of existing information resource centers in developing countries, whether they have been established and supported by community action, governments, NGOs or the wider international community. Identify centers that could be strengthened to serve as full-scale waystations along the information superhighway, selecting those that prioritize technological development for access to health information resources. Ensure that each IW has at least a computer, CD-ROM drive and relevant data bases, and a modem, global satellite telephone and paid-for Internet link. Two training and maintenance visits would be provided per year. Coordination, and intensive and continuous follow-up and support, would be provided by the project administration, which would also work continuously to develop sustainability beyond the project term both from local and other external funding sources.

Health and nutrition, rights, economic development.

IWs would serve as points of referral for all in the surrounding geographic area, and would be expected to promote their services to health and biomedical researchers, students, health workers at all levels of the local infrastructure and other people in search of health information. IWs would also form a network themselves. Project would not merely provide information from the North to the South, but represents a perhaps unique opportunity to bring indigenous knowledge to the fore.