It was interesting to read the posting on Satellite radio in India. > BANGALORE, Oct 31 -- Download a website via your radio? Unbelievable but > true. Yet this is soon to become possible across India too when a > satellite-radio broadcaster enables its receivers with data-downloading > capabilities.
This is already a reality for us in Kenya and several other African countries. We are now able to receive audio messages as well as download data from selected Internet sites using the WorldSpace digital radio receivers. AfriAfya, African Network for Health Knowledge Management and Communication, is a consortium of Kenyan-based NGOs currently carrying out a pilot project in the use of this and other information and communication technologies for improved access to health information for community health workers both in the urban setting and in rural areas with no telephone lines or electricity. AfriAfya has currently established a coordinating hub and seven field centres to 'test' out the different ICTs and integrate these with traditional communication methods. The overall objective is to increase the access to relevant, up-to-date health information for health workers on the ground, and to tap into the knowledge base that exists within the communities that we are working in, and the outer world including the Internet. Emphasis is being placed on two-way communication to ensure that information communicated is relevant to the communities being served. Each of the field centres thus acts as a resource centre for the health workers and the community that it serves. The WorldSpace digital receivers have provided the centres with both audio and electronic information that can then be adapted as necessary and printed out for distribution. As it is still a one-way communication system, different communication modalities have to be used to communicate information from the field centres to the hub and back. CD ROMs and diskettes, and email where available are used to augment this. Solar panels have been used to supply power where there is no electricity. With the current advances in technology it is exciting to explore what will work best in our setting. Caroline Nyamai AfriAfya Project Coordinator Amref Building Wilson Airport P. O. Box 30125 Nairobi Kenya Tel: 254 - 2 - 609520, 604651 - 9 Ext 228 Fax: 254 - 2 - 609518 ------------ ***GKD is an initiative of the Global Knowledge Partnership*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.globalknowledge.org>
