Combinations of modern ICTs with traditional media can be most effective and efficient agents of change. In Uganda, STF strongly relies on print magazines like ‘Straight Talk’ and ‘Young Talk’, in combination with radio and internet, to create awareness on HIV/AIDS. Also clubs are instrumental in promoting good health and the control of STDs in schools. Similarly the above- Trendsetter journal appears in print as well as online. It has a monthly circulation of 30,000 copies, based on commercial sales. Up to 20% of youth in Lusaka read the paper, and Youth Media claim a reduction in HIV/AIDS transmission to 15 – 18 year olds can be partially explained by this large readership. The internet facilitates linkages South-South and South-North for better health. It provides additional access to medical information for professionals. There is, however, no direct relevance for poverty reduction. Indirect effects cannot be excluded but are not obvious in a highly unequal society. Box 2: Keneya Blown – global and local telemedicine linkages The Keneya Blown project links five hospitals in Mali and one in Switzerland. Apart from providing an internet platform, which provides information to students and professionals in the health sector, the link to the North is used for long distance consultations (x-rays are sent to the North, where they are interpreted by specialists and the diagnosis is sent back) as well as the transmission of lectures. In a later phase it is planned to also have regional health staff linking up to courses provided by teachers in Bamako. Apart from the educational opportunities this project supports, it is also a valuable source of medical information for people in the North (the knowledge base of Mali in leprosy has been well appreciated by universities in the North), showing that there are specific information needs in the North that can be met by the South. Keneya Blown, catalysed by IICD, has received Africa- wide recognition and is mentioned in a recent report80 by the Economic Commission for Africa of the UN. Source: Ndiaye 2003, chapter 4.1 For more information on the project see: http://www.keneya.net/
The use of ICTs is key for advocacy to change trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPs) and to lower health costs. See 6.2.3 global dimension. BDO programmes in the health – HIV/AIDS domain directly and indirectly contribute to achieve the MDGs. This domain is particularly relevant for the health related MDGs on child mortality reduction, maternal health improvement, and the combat against infectious diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS and malaria. Tracing the BDO impact is, however, limited due to the fact that baseline data is often missing. As has been noted in the paragraph on livelihoods, there are other factors that may negatively affect such efforts. Change is always a question of the alternatives available and, as such, depends on the environment: Zambian women were bemoaning the fact that condoms were not more readily available, as they understood the importance of condoms in a polygamous society; the youth were concerned with abstinence being the main weapon against HIV/AIDS. The Learning Study notes that there remain untapped opportunities, and the realisation of the vision of e-health is a long way off for Zambia.
80
ECA 2003, p.14.
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