[Pakistan] COMSATS, IDRC to develop Northern Areas

["Irfan Khan" <khania2@super.net.pk>]

COMSATS, IDRC to develop Northern Areas  
The Nation,  
2/18/2003
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/feb-2003/18/national/isb5.asp
  

ISLAMABAD (APP) – The Commission on Science and Technology for 
Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), has been successful 
in mobilising support for a joint venture with the International 
Development Research Organisation (IDRC), based in Canada, through 
its meetings with representatives at Bangkok.  

Representatives from various developing organisations attended the 
three-day meeting to present their project proposals so as to obtain 
support of IDRC for implementation. COMSATS was represented by Dr 
Hameed Ahmed Khan, the Executive Director of the Commission.  

The project of telehealth and distance learning would be a joint 
collaboration between IDRC, COMSATS, the Karakorum Area Development 
organisation (KADO), and the Baltistan Health and Education 
Foundation (BHEF), all based in Pakistan, for the socio-economic 
development of the Northern Areas of Pakistan, namely, Gilgit, Skardu 
and Hunza.  

The two-year project utilises advanced telecommunication technologies 
and is focused on providing specialist health care services and high 
quality education to people living in far flung areas that face 
distance barriers due to geographic isolation.  

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), shall be applied to 
facilitate poverty alleviation activities; to demonstrate potential 
for such solutions in linking remote areas at local level with main 
cities; to link down country institutions and organisations for 
networking and knowledge building and for gradual linking up with 
relevant bodies abroad.  

The developmental project will provide multi-fold benefits to the 
target population which not only includes cost effective telemedicine 
facilities and distance learning but also poverty alleviation 
activities, women empowerment, income generation, enterprise 
development and job creation.  

The project based on strong merits and outcome of the project and on 
COMSATS ability to deliver as is evident by the previous 
collaboration with IDRC whose outstanding results are visible in the 
form of launching of COMSATS ISP in Gilgit.   



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