Telemedicine as a tool for peace

2003.09.16 av Jarl-Stian Olsen

"Telemedicine is an outstanding tool for creating peace." The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Professor Ole D Mjøs, said this in his opening speech at the Tromsø Telemedicine Conference in Tromsø, Norway, today. He believes that health workers have a special responsibility to promote peace in the world, and that health professionals in many situations have a unique opportunity to function as bridge builders in conflict areas.

"The world's telemedicine community, which is now gathered in Tromsø, is full of creativity and is capable of seeing solutions across national borders," said Professor Mjøs in his presentation. So he believes that it must be magnificent to use telemedicine to contribute to peace in the world. "In all conflicts, it is the civilians who suffer the most. In modern warfare, eight civilians die for every soldier who takes part in battle. The civilians die because of food shortages, lack of shelter or inadequate health services," he says.

The new concept of "TelePeace"
Professor Mjøs would like to introduce a new concept: TelePeace. It involves health workers linking telemedicine and work for peace. He urges a greater awareness of developing telemedical services designed to promote peace. "This applies in particular within the teaching and transfer of skills in a conflict area, says the chairman of the Nobel Committee. In exchanging knowledge, people must talk to each other, and in many cases professional collaboration can be developed into friendship. "We have examples of this from Sierra Leone," he says. After 20 years of conflict, the country was split into two, and there was a desperate need to gather health workers across the line of conflict. "So the authorities called in health workers from both sides in the conflict, and after they had spent four days together, many prejudices and suspicions had disappeared," says Professor Mjøs. The health workers discovered that they had common problems and common challenges in providing health services.

Education packages for peace
With time, telemedicine has made considerable progress in offering health teaching via distance education. From the perspective of peace, Professor Mjøs believes it could be useful to put together special education packages for health professionals in conflict areas. "It is a matter of applying knowledge, the fundamental medical approach and the opportunities available to health professionals, so that we can get people together and work towards shared goals," he says. He made a clear appeal to the 360 conference delegates:
"If there is one thing to remember after this conference, it is 'health and peace - health for peace.'"

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