The Union government has given a grant of Rs 542.90 crore for the Pan Africa eNetwork project. Under the project, India's healthcare providers can be connected to all the 53 countries of the African Union via a satellite and fibre optic network. Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya is among the 12 hospitals in the country to be associated with the project. The healthcare major has now launched its telemedicine operations for the African Union through the Pan-African e-Network Project.

According to Dr Devi Shetty, chairman, Narayana Hrudayalaya, the quality of healthcare infrastructure in most of the African countries is poor. "Pan African e-Network will help us in keeping our objective of servicing the poorer sections of society without compromising on quality. India has a tremendous advantage of highly trained, technically skilled manpower. Using technological solutions like the satellite link in this project, we will be able to reach some of the most remote areas to offer quick and effective healthcare solutions," he said.

Pan-African e-Network project is to provide telemedicine services, medical and educational, by way of wholesome on-line medical consultations to the medical practitioners in the African Union. The Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India has been designated as the Nodal Ministry while the Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) has been designated as the turnkey Implementing Agency.

"We will actively deliver quick and quality healthcare solutions to the masses through the aid of TCIL's channel of connectivity and our former President's dream project," said Dr Devi Shetty.

To ensure the success of the project, Narayana Hrudayalaya has built its own sound proof studio with the parameters of decibels laid down by TCIL. A 24-hour chilling unit for servers, a production control room for exclusive AV set-up and 24-hour man power availability guarantee smooth operations of the project.