SATELLIFE's Mission

SATELLIFE is an international not-for-profit humanitarian organization employing satellite, telephone, and Internet technology to serve the health communication and information needs of countries in the developing world through a global computer-based communications network, HealthNet.

SATELLIFE's mission is to improve health by enhancing connectivity among professionals in the field via electronic communications and exchanges of information in the areas of public health, medicine, and the environment. A special emphasis is placed on areas of the world where access is limited by poor communications, economic conditions, or natural disasters.

The inspiration for SATELLIFE came from Dr. Bernard Lown. Prior to the creation of SATELLIFE, Dr. Lown co-founded the organization International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which in 1985 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Originally conceived as a symbolic counterpoint to the "Star Wars" defense system, Dr. Lown's vision for SATELLIFE was to use space as a platform not for weapons of mass destruction, but for the exchange of life-saving information among health professionals in both developed nations and the developing world.

Through the creative use of various communications and information technologies, and the formation of partnerships with various medical institutions and organizations, as well as other telecommunications service providers, SATELLIFE surmounts the financial and technical obstacles that have kept health professionals in the developing world out of the communications loop for decades.