2005

Telemedicine fund as a united initiative

The objective is to reduce the digital divide between rich industrialized countries in the West and developing countries that do not have the opportunity to introduce information and communications technology in the development of health services.

A board with expertise
The board consists primarily of people with broad experience from the public health service and technological expertise combined with knowledge and experience in international collaboration. The first board comprises: Turid Josefsen, former president of Autosuture; Torvald Stoltenberg, president of the Norwegian Red Cross; Bjørn Pehrson, professor at Teknologisk institutt in Stockholm, Ole D. Mjøs, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee; Bjørn Kaldhol, chairman of the board at the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority; and Knut Schrøder, director of the University Hospital of North Norway.

Reducing distance
The idea behind establishing the fund is to create motivation based on solidarity to help developing countries to improve their health services with telemedicine as a tool.

- "We see that introducing telemedicine and eHealth in the part of the world that does not have the prerequisites for using technology that we have in the West could provide a way to reduce the distance between industrial and developing countries. The aim of the fund is to support telemedicine studies, projects and activities," explains Tove Sørensen, head of the WHO centre at the NST.

Access to health services
The fund's activities are aimed at:

o People who do not have access to health services in other ways
o Health workers in developing countries and other economically weak areas in the world (teaching)
o Organizations in the public and private sector with good ideas that need support from the fund in order to develop telemedicine services

Needs contributors
At the first board meeting in Tromsø on 10 June, the statutes were reviewed and the criteria for support were approved.

- "The objectives of the meeting also included formalizing the establishment of the fund as well as reaching agreement on a plan for stimulating prospective contributors to participate with resources for the fund," says Tove Sørensen at the Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine.

Contact: 
Tove Sørensen, Head of the WHO collaboration, Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine (NST) Tel. +47 911 95 696, E-mail: Tove.sorensen@telemed.no 

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