Construction of UM Healthcare Hospital

The construction of the UM Healthcare hospital is underway in the village Zahidabad. This hospital is being built on a four kanal land in Mardan District of NWFP (North West Frontier Province) and is a ray of hope for the rural community. The village is 180KM North of Islamabad, Pakistan.

The basic statistics of the district include:

Population: 1.6 Million people

District Hospitals: 2

Basic Health Units: 50

Infant Mortality Rate: 76/1000 child births

Maternal Mortality Rate: 201/1000 live births

Earthquakes and Aftershocks

I landed safely in Pakistan after a 36-hour journey from San Francisco to Islamabad, Pakistan on March 19. This is my first visit to my home country after the devastating earthquake in October 2005. Just a few hours after my arrival, the northern Pakistan, including, Islamabad was shaken with yet another moderate earthquake of 5.0 magnitude. Even though there were no deaths or destructions reported this time, but it is a reminder that I have arrived in the earthquake active zone. Already, there have been over 1780 aftershocks that have been felt through the region since the devastating earthquake in October 2005. Last week, an earthquake of 5.2, had caused the death of at least one individual and injury to 16 people in Pakistan’s Kashmir region.

Tech Nation with Dr. Moira Gunn

Tech Nation will broadcast interviews of the select few Reuters Digital Vision Fellows on March 21st, 2006. The weekly National Public Radio program is hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. It focuses on impact of technology in the lives of individuals.

Stuart Gannes, the Director of the Reuters Digital Vision Program at Stanford University, as well as this year’s Digital Vision Fellows talk about global projects with a humanitarian bent – from citizen journalism on simple cellphones, to tele-healthcare for developing nations, and multimedia for the street kids of Rio.