Two companies are collecting used-but-working PDAs for donation to physicians working in Africa. Skyscape, which sells medical software for handhelds, and Satellife, a global health information network, have co-founded the “Global Supply Line” program, which launches today to coincide with World AIDS Day.

According to a program spokesman, millions of PDAs are discarded each year, or left to languish in a drawer somewhere, for lack of any better use. Satellife says it will distribute the PDAs to doctors in Uganda and other East African countries, as part of its existing initiative to fight the spread of AIDS in Africa and improve medical care by providing doctors with the most current treatment guidelines and references.

Skyscape, meanwhile, will equip the PDAs with mobile medical references enabling health practitioners in the developing world to access the latest medical information while working in rural areas.

“Like cell phones, PDA turnover is high as new models are introduced. This holiday season, many PDAs will be retired, but these can be put to good use: helping doctors in developing nations provide better healthcare,” said Sandeep Shah, CEO of Skyscape.

Satellife's executive director, Holly Ladd, said, “Outside of a few select hospitals, most doctors in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to the latest medical information — which is essential for providing the highest quality of medical care. By providing doctors with the references they need on handheld devices, we can ensure they get out to the clinics and rural areas where they can have the most significant impact.”

Satellife was founded by Nobel Prize winning cardiologist Dr. Bernard Lown with the mission of delivering health information to the world's poorest countries. More than 20,000 health professionals in 150 countries, including doctors, nurses, medical students, researchers, government officials, and program managers, access Satellife's networks every day, it says.

Further details regarding the “Global Supply Line” program, and on how to donate a PDA to it, are available here.

 
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