Health workers in Arawa, Bougainville, now have increased ability to access latest health information, virtually free of charge.
This follows a five-day course on HINARI- an online system that provides free or very low cost access to thousands of medical, and scientific books and journals, in low and middle income countries.
The course was conducted by the World Health Organization.
Participants included staff and students from Arawa School of Nursing and health workers from Central Bougainville.
WHO Country Representative, Dr Luo Dapeng, said that the quest for knowledge and information is key to better health.
But, he adds, for low income countries, especially in remote places, the latest health and medical information is not easy to come by.
Dr Luo said this usually comes at a huge cost.
To counter this WHO together with major publishers established HINARI.
This innovative system connects hospitals, universities and research institutes with the most up-to-date scientific and medical literature.
Up to fourteen thousand e-journals, and thirty-three thousand online books in biomedical and related social sciences, can be accessed at very low to no cost, thus distance and budget are no longer barriers to information that can save lives.
Workshop participants from Arawa Nursing School said having access to up-to-date and reliable information is a step forward for Bougainville’s health sector.