A new global order is emerging compelled by powerful and unstoppable
forces. Preventing the continued disfigurement of the human condition
by mass violence and war mandates attention to issues of justice.
Neither peace nor justice is possible unless the growing global
North-South divide is addressed.
Disparities between rich and poor nations are enormous and growing.
The South's per capita income is only 6% of the North's. In Uganda,
as in other third world countries, $1 is spent per patient per
year for health, while in the USA it is about $1700 annually.
The gulf is widening - especially in science, in technology and
most markedly in information.
The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
(IPPNW) concluded that the inability to send and receive timely
information undermines health care and impedes the development
process. IPPNW has turned to space to link health professionals
and medical libraries in a global community united by the exchange
of information to promote health cooperation. For this purpose
it created a unique independent entity, designated as SatelLife.
SatelLife extends the concept of citizen diplomacy to the
area of health. It uses micro-satellite technology and electronic
mail to address the health communication needs of the developing
world. The system is inexpensive, sustainable, robust. Two satellites
circle the globe, North pole to South pole, once every 100 minutes,
passing over every point on earth at least four times daily. Because
of the low altitude (800 km) of their orbit, the links with the
ground stations are strong and virtually error-free.
We now have ground stations in 18 countries in Africa as well
as in Latin America and Cuba. But more important than the hardware
is the user network created in each country to permit a South-South
dialogue. This is embodied in a program designated as HealthNet,
a user-driven program. It enables health professionals working
under difficult conditions in developing countries to communicate
with one another and exchange information vital for improving
health. In short, we have created a powerful system for the acquisition
and dissemination of health information.
The world has grown inextricably interconnected and inter-dependent.
If a peaceful world is to be built, it will require more equity.
We would like to imagine that SatelLife, by democratizing
information, will empower people and thereby widen the scope of
the human condition in the 21st century.
The resulting essay has been translated into Italian and published in the book
Scienza e società. Dieci Nobel per il futuro. (Marsilio, Venezia 1995).
