As part of the Pan African e-Network project, Mauritius has been selected to host a Super Speciality Regional Hospital, which will link to other hospitals in the region and offer telemedicine services.
Former Indian president Abdul Kalam initiated the project in 2004. The plan aims to connect the African Union’s 53 nations through satellite and fiber-optic networks.
The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital, situated in northern Mauritius, will be equipped as part of the e-network project to provide services to other hospitals connected in the region.
“We will receive and process data coming from East African countries. Those will be send to other hospitals in India and come back to be resent in those countries,” said Suraj Ramgoolam, chairman of the National Computer Board of Mauritius.
The main objective of the Pan African e-Network Project is to deliver quality education, a good health-care service, Internet, video conferencing, and voice over Internet protocol services. It also aims to support e-governance and e-commerce to Africa using ICT infrastructure. The government of India is funding the e-network project with US$117 million.