Aggregation, connectivity, and partnerships are the fundamental principles that are helping us fill a critical public health need in countries like India. We are also working with various industry and public sector partners to increase health Internet access throughout the developing world by providing technology in the form of computers and Internet access. The Net can improve global public health through the creation of knowledge equity. It can serve as THE conduit for diffusing greatly needed public health information and technology. International public health experts are in general agreement that preventive health information and communication tools are an important part of the solution.
Many diseases exist for which information and education offer a powerful vehicle for prevention.
The InterNetwork will offer the healthcare and medical sectors access to a single umbrella Web site where authoritative, high quality public health information will be available. It will include educational content, scientific databases, indigenous medical information, and statistical tracking and analysis tools. We have formed major alliances with the United Nations system, including the World Health Organization. We are projecting to have a minimum of 100 public health sites in each of the 130 least developed nations operational by 2003. India is the first of 6-8 pilot countries where we are launching the InterNetwork.