Popularly known as “the Computer place”, WiRED International’s Community Health Information Center (CHIC) in Butula is proving to be the best strategy for fighting AIDS. Confirming the popular notion that “information is power,” the story of 11-year-old Joseph is a testimony to WiRED’s work in this part of the world.
I’m delighted to be here today for the opening of this Health Information Centre at the College of Medical Sciences of the University of Nairobi. I want to congratulate the staff of the WiRED project, Professor Gary Selnow and Pauline Karani, for their hard work in setting up this center, and I especially want to thank Professor Makawati, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, for the support and guidance given to this project.
The Medtronic Foundation renewed support of WiRED International’s healthcare programs by awarding the San Francisco-based non-profit organization a grant of $40,000 to fund Phase-II of its priority healthcare programs in Iraq.
As part of IOM’s Medical Evacuation and Health Rehabilitation Program for Iraq (MEHRPI), which addresses treatment options for patients who currently cannot find appropriate care in Iraq, efforts are being made to equip local medical facilities with technology and resources to strengthen the health care system during this transitional phase of rehabilitation.
With so much grim news coming out of Iraq, it is heartening to hear about corporations and organizations that are striving to improve the quality of life for Iraqi citizens. Affinity Internet’s support of WiRED International is a partnership that will bring good things to the seriously ill and injured children in this war-torn country.
Pfizer, Inc. is supporting WiRED International’s healthcare program in Iraq by awarding the San Francisco-based non-profit organization a first-time grant of $10,000. This gift will partially underwrite the establishment of Medical Information Centers in eleven medical schools and nine hospitals in Iraq.
The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) recently awarded a $5,000 Quality of Life Grant to WiRED International, a nonprofit organization that provides information and communication resources to benefit disadvantaged people worldwide.
In mid-March, I visited the first Medical Information Center WiRED installed in Iraq. That was last June when WiRED’s technician, Che Pangborn, and I launched the Center in Baghdad’s large Medical City Center with 10 operational computers and a complete medical e-library for use by thousands of medical faculty and students.
Archived story. Original version is here. PDF File
Project Overview: This rapid-start, two-stage project will provide Iraq’s healthcare community with access to information about the latest developments in human medicine. The Medical Information Centers will offer comprehensive medical e-libraries on CD-ROMS that contain educational, statistical and reference information drawn from universities, government sources, pharmaceutical companies and non-governmental organizations.