Media Invitation

Members of the media are invited by the SA Medical Research Council (MRC) to attend the 1st SA Telemedicine Conference taking place on 16-17 September 2010 at the MRC Conference Centre in Parow Valley, Cape Town.

The theme of the conference is “Bridging the Gap”. The Telemedicine Conference hopes to address issue of the availability, accessibility and affordability of healthcare to Africans. Telemedicine is an enabling tool which promises to improve the life of all Africans.

‘Technology evolves at a rapid pace and if we embrace technology it could create wonderful opportunities and solutions to address some of the challenges in healthcare,’ says Ms Fortuin, manager of the telemedicine platform at the MRC. Telemedicine can never replace any health professional but should be seen as a technology tool’, she further said. 

MTN SA Foundation is the sponsor of the 1st SA Telemedicine Conference. For the past two years MTN SA Foundation has invested close to R5 million on this project. Ms Angie Maloka, Communication’s Manager for MTN SA Foundation, said that ‘this capital investment should be seen as our commitment to telemedicine. The MRC is our telemedicine partner and we have tasked them to ensure that telemedicine is implemented as a cornerstone of the MTN SA Foundation Strategic Plan.’

This event brings together health experts, funders and investors from all sectors for two days in Cape Town. ‘Telemedicine cuts across all sectors including: health, science and technology; communications; trade and industry; foreign affairs etc. This is an indication of the growing scope and potential of telemedicine,’ says Ms Fortuin.

For more information on the conference: http://www.satelemedicine.co.za/index.html

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For more information contact:
Mr Julian A Jacobs on 082 454 4902 or
Mr Olwethu Ndoni on 021 9380840

NOTE TO EDITOR:

SA MRC: Telemedicine is the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide and support healthcare activities, when distance separates the participants. Since September 1999, the MRC has been active in Telemedicine, coordinating joint projects with the DoH and others. The MRC's National Telemedicine Platform, successor to the Telemedicine Research Centre, cooperates with SA academic institutions and the National and Provincial Health Departments, functioning as a centre of excellence in Telemedicine for the South African region.

MTN SA FOUNDATION: Telemedicine is a flagship project of MTN SA Foundation as part of our over arching vision which is to “connecting communities to become sustainable.’ The health programme will focus on educating both learners and community members about HIV and Aids, TB, life skills and lifestyle diseases, while a telemedicine technology platform will link rural clinics with specialist doctors based in urban hospitals and thereby facilitate quicker diagnosis, treatment and medicine prescription for rural patients.