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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. This gift will partially underwrite the establishment of Medical Information Centers in eleven medical schools and nine hospitals in Iraq.
For decades, under a repressive regime, Iraqi doctors labored in isolation, cut off from current medical information and from international colleagues. Now, amid the postwar rubble of sacked libraries, lacking the Internet access widely available in many parts of the world, they are struggling to transform their country's healthcare system with the help of WiRED International and The Medtronic Foundation.
Phase-I of this work was funded by the U.S. Global Technology Corps at the U.S. Department of State and backed by the Iraqi Provisional Ministry of Health. Additional funding for Phase II of this project has been provided by the U.S. Global Technology Corps at the U.S. Department of State, Affinity Internet, Inc., Pfizer Global Foundation and the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.
During the first stage of this project, which was launched in 2003, WiRED installed 25 networked computers and provided four medical e-libraries in four Baghdad-area medical schools and hospitals. The response was overwhelming and demonstrated the urgent need for these Centers. Today, more than 2,500 Iraqi physicians and medical student use the Centers for reference and medical research. The CD e-libraries help quick-start the medical educational process until the appropriate infrastructure is locally available for the Centers to add Internet access.
"These first-of-a-kind centers will give Iraqi physicians the information they need to catch up with medical developments after more than a decade of isolation," said Dr. Gary Selnow, WiRED's Executive Director.
One of the most exciting developments in Phase-II of WiRED's Iraqi humanitarian services is the addition of WiRED's Video Visit Program. The Video Visit Program allows families of seriously ill children undergoing life-saving treatment in hospitals outside of Iraq to make "live" visits via Internet-linked video. The children and their families are often separated for long periods as the youngsters receive extensive medical treatments for wounds and other conditions such as heart surgery and chemotherapy; the medical treatments are provided free of charge by various international organizations. The families are too poor to accompany the children, so these youngsters face their treatments alone and at times without someone who can speak their language.
WiRED International is grateful to The Medtronic Foundation for helping support the efforts of Iraqi medical professionals as they strive to improve the healthcare of their citizens.
The Medtronic Foundation is committed to helping people live healthy and productive lives. It focuses its efforts on building partnerships and empowering people with chronic disease, igniting and sustaining students' natural curiosity in science, and contributing to the vitality of communities.
The Medtronic Foundation's website is http://www.medtronic.com/foundation
Layout by Brian Colombe.
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