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Rationale

Delivering education and learning at distance is a way of reply to one of the important challenges of the Pacific Island region: populations and health professionals scattered over thousands and thousands of kilometres. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) provide a golden opportunity to give access to distance education and information.

This Website gives access to some programs and courses in health-related topics available at distance around the world. It includes also links to many sites with library and other information resources.

On top of that, its aim is to comprehensively include all opportunities of distance education in health in and/or specific to the Pacific Island region, i.e. courses and programmes that can be delivered at the place of work of Pacific Island health professionals.

Nevertheless, although ICT are progressively becoming more and more available and accessible, it is unrealistic to think these technologies will soon be available to the nurse working on a remote island without electricity, or in the inland bush of a big island. As well, the use of ICTs gives access to many distance training opportunities that are not always relevant to the local context (be it professional, geographical or cultural)…

Clearly, access to distance education should not be limited by access to ICT. That is why not only courses and programmes using the new ICT will be included. Relevant information about distance education in health—and health education extension services—will also be available to the Pacific Island countries and territories under a more classical, non-IT based format.