a. Harnessing of ICT tools and applications for supporting health services, hospital and laboratory services. b. Effective monitoring of the health care systems in the country through an integrated Health Management Information System (HMIS) (including traditional medicine). c. Legal framework for promotion of e-Health programs like telemedicine. A1-3-2 Objectives a. To improve communication systems nationwide centres/hospitals by utilizing ICT applications. between health care b. To use ICT to extend the reach of scarce resources nationwide by audio and video transmission systems. c. To use ICT to create a health information database and further facilitate dissemination of medical information within existing clinical systems. d. To strengthen the ICT human resource of the Health sector. A1-3-3 Challenges a. High medical costs in advanced diagnostic equipment and medical services. b. The lack of well equipped laboratories and trained pathologists. c. Lack of adequate ICT human resources within the health sector. A1-3-4 Targets a. Launch a nationwide programme of designing, implementing and managing strategic ICT applications in health sector involving communities, NGOs and professionals by 2010. b. Introduce a national integrated Health Management Information System in various phases to connect all the healthcare centres and major hospitals and laboratories through ICT by 2011. A1-4 Education A1-4-1 Issues a. Insufficient highly ICT skilled education sector workforce in the application of ICT in teaching and in the management of the education system. b. Absence of ICT literacy as a mandatory basic component of formal education programmes. c. Lack of resource mobilization and equitable distribution of adequate number of ICT tools among various educational institutions. d. Limited use of ICT as an education tool to enhance education in the classroom. A1-4-2 Objectives ICT Policy of Sierra Leone Page 49 / 63