5 December 2000
Dakar, Senegal — The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Open Society Institute (OSI), a part of the Soros Foundation network, have teamed with leading information providers ISI and SilverPlatter, to provide access to high quality scientific information, via the Internet, to research centres in countries in Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
A WHO statement said Tuesday that other public and private partners are involved in the project, while discussions are also under way with Elsevier Science to join the initiative.
It said the pilot project is part of a wider UN programme called "Health InterNetwork," which aims to improve global public health by facilitating the flow of health information worldwide, using Internet technologies.
Based on the experience gained in the first pilot year, the partnership will roll out, over five years, sustainable, affordable scientific information packages to medical and health research institutions in a large number of resource-strapped countries.
It is anticipated that by the end of year two, between 30 and 40 countries will have joined.
Research, and sharing the knowledge gained through its efforts, is fundamental to improving public health.
"Valuable research is carried out in developing countries and emerging economies, but the researchers are hampered by not being able to share essential scientific information and communication," said Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO Director-General.
"If the researchers and scientists can read the same journals, search the same databases, join in the discussion groups, compete for the same grants as their colleagues from wealthier countries, it will strengthen their own research, bring them into the international community of researchers and eventually improve dissemination of their own results," she added.
George Soros explains that through his Foundation he has "committed significant resources to help bridge the digital divide. Now I want to join forces with WHO and the world's leading scientific publishers to help provide information to the health sector in emerging countries," the statement quoted him as saying.
The pilot phase will enable researchers, teachers and students at leading research institutions in Armenia, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Mongolia, Uganda, Tanzania and Uzbekistan to access top-of-the-line international scientific information in digital format, and to integrate the world scientific community through electronic communication.
The private partners and OSI are to organise comprehensive training for research staff.
WHO, in collaboration with the UN, will discuss with service providers in the eight initial countries to provide high-speed connectivity to the Internet.
"ISI is proud to participate in WHO's Health InterNetwork project," said Vin Caraher, Senior Vice-President Worldwide Sales and Marketing, ISI.
SilverPlatter's Chief Executive Officer Alex Sann also said he "(is) extremely pleased and excited to be teaming with our existing business partners and WHO/OSI on this important venture."
The digital divide in information is a new problem, requiring new approaches.
WHO said "this multi-sector collaboration is breaking new ground within the field of scientific publishing by making all concerned parties including the users of the information, work in concert to provide solutions that neither the public nor private sector will be able to achieve on their own."
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