This paper is a commentary on a project application of telemedicine to alleviate primary health care problems in\r\nLundazi district in the Eastern province of Zambia. The project dubbed ââ?¬Ë?The Virtual Doctor Projectââ?¬â?¢ will use hard\r\nbody vehicles fitted with satellite communication devices and modern medical equipment to deliver primary\r\nhealth care services to some of the neediest areas of the country. The relevance and importance of the project lies\r\nin the fact that these areas are hard-to-reach due to rugged natural terrain and have very limited\r\ntelecommunications infrastructure. The lack of these and other basic services makes it difficult for medical\r\npersonnel to settle in these areas, which leads to an acute shortage of medical personnel. We comment on this\r\nproblem and how it is addressed by ââ?¬Ë?The Virtual Doctor Projectââ?¬â?¢, emphasizing that while the telemedicine concept\r\nis not new in sub-Saharan Africa, the combination of mobility and connectivity to service a number of villages ââ?¬Ë?on\r\nthe goââ?¬â?¢ is an important variation in the shift back to the 1978 Alma Ata principles of the United Nations World\r\nHealth Organization [WHO].\r\nThis overview of the Virtual Doctor Project in Zambia provides insight into both the potential for ICT, and the\r\nproblems and limitations that any ââ?¬Å?real-worldââ?¬Â articulation of this technology must confront
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