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GPU Announces MOU with Global VSAT Forum

GPU Announces MOU with Global VSAT Forum

 

PRESS RELEASE

HEALTH AND SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALISTS JOIN FORCES TO DRIVE EXPANDED TELE-HEALTH OPPORTUNITIES

GlobalPartnersUnited and the Global VSAT Forum Agree to Jointly Promote Delivery of Innovative Communications Solutions
for the Health, Education and Rehabilitation  Sectors

May 10, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. – State-of-the-art satellite communications solutions are to be applied globally to meet increasing need and demand for tele-health and telepractices solutions to address healthcare and education access disparities through a new partnership of GlobalPartnersUnited (GPU), a Bethesda, MD-based tele-health public-private alliance, and the Global VSAT Forum, the U.K.-based association of the satellite communications industry.

GPU is a social enterprise comprised of universities, telehealth entrepreneurs, health, disability, education, e-learning, and social media experts, and civil society organisations, designed to strengthen systems and provide content expertise by enabling information and communication technologies (ICT) for achieving international development goals. The organisation’s primary mission is to achieve global social, human rights, and economic development by delivering capacity-building programmes for health, education, and related civil society systems via the use of telecommunications, IT, online and blended learning, broadcasting, social media, mobile technologies, and the Internet.

GVF is a non-profit association representing the international satellite communications sector, and which has a mission of facilitating expanded access to fixed and mobile satellite-based communications solutions that promote socio-economic development in all nations by enabling training, capacity building, peer-to-peer dialogue, research, and multi-stakeholder ICT programmes. The organisation’s more than 225 Member companies are increasingly being called upon to provide tele-health services.

“Recognition of the value of tele-health solutions is spreading quickly, and there is an urgent need for closer collaboration between health and education specialists and the satellite communications sector to expedite fulfillment of the related Millennium Development Goals and human rights treaties tenets,” said Evelyn Cherow, Executive Director of GPU. “GPU’s tele-health and evidence-based practices expertise and the GVF Membership’s capabilities will be a powerful combination to elevate health and education access, communities of practice development, and service delivery worldwide. GPU aims to be a ‘value innovation’ actor and partner in the capacity building, telepractices, and policy arenas.”

“Large-scale delivery of satellite-based tele-health services is now within reach,” said David Hartshorn, Secretary General of GVF. “Collaboration with GPU will enable the satellite industry to take tele-health and related solutions to the next level. We have already begun to identify potential opportunities in the Americas, Africa, and Asia, and we are inviting organisations interested in exploring tele-health collaboration to come forward.”

Specifically, the objective of the GPU-GVF agreement is to explore cooperation in all spheres of telecommunications and to collaborate in the following areas:

  1. Joint approaches to funding agencies, development partners and private sector organisations to provide financing for projects and programmes that the parties agree to undertake.  
  2. Joint work in research and analysis in the field of telecommunications, particularly on satellite communications, in such areas as policy & regulatory work, technological developments, skills building, and infrastructure readiness and deployment.
  3. Jointly organising and conduct of events, capacity building workshops, e-learning and networking forums, and symposia on topics of mutual interest.
  4. Joint work to initiate and operate a programme to track developments in satellite communications, especially in the fields of technology, policy and regulations to enriching each party’s knowledge base. 

Parties interested in exploring initiatives with the two organizations are invited to contact Evelyn Cherow at globalpartnersunited@gmail.com or David Hartshorn at david.hartshorn@gvf.org.

About GlobalPartnersUnited

GlobalPartnersUnited (GPU) and its Global teleRehabilitation Institute, create innovative public-private alliances committed to brain ‘gain’, systems strengthening, and capacity building in developing countries via innovative 21st century Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applications. By infusing online and hybrid learning models, social media, and telepractices blended with traditional international development strategies, GPU aims for improved sustainable and scalable capacity building outcomes, service delivery, and monitoring and evaluation. (www.global-partners-united.com). Contact: Evelyn Cherow at  globalpartnersunited@gmail.com .

About GVF

GVF is the non-profit association of the satellite communications industry. Based in London and with affiliates in every major world region, GVF represents more than 200 leading providers of satellite-based systems and services. The association works with industries, governments, non-government organisations and other mining stakeholders to promote more effective collaboration (www.gvf.org). Contact: David.Hartshorn@gvf.org.