Use of Space Technology in the Global Efforts to Enhance Health and Medical Services
Date
2005-04-08
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Presented at Med-e-tel 2005 Conference in Luxembourg
Abstract
Space-Based Technology Applications to eHealth: Countries increasingly see good health as fundamental to human development
and national prosperity. Space technology can contribute to the improvement
of global health. The paper points out a few less well-known applications that
have either had a great impact or have the potential to do so. They include,
the key role of space-based telemetry in the control of river blindness,
radiation protection, global disease surveillance, WHO's Strategic Health
Operations Center (SHOC), disaster relief, ambulance video links, and malaria
modeling. But there is much more that can be done in terms of spreading the
benefits of the technology, in particular bridging the Digital Divide, which
exists between north and south. We suggest three areas in which space
technology can contribute to achieving target 18 of the Millennium
Development Goals: connectivity - make channel capacity available for health
purposes; develop human resources for health to alleviate the overall
worldwide shortages of health professionals, which is further aggravated by
migration of professionals for a variety of reasons, including the quest for
greener pastures abroad; and informing both health professionals and
citizens.
Description
This presentation was given by Dr. S. Yunkap Kwankam of the WHO, at the Med-e-tel 2005 Conference in Luxembourg on April 8th, 2005.
Keywords
eHealth, Aerospace, World Health Organization, Quality of Care