Telecommunications for health - new opportunities for action

Profound and rapid changes in telecommunications are transforming the way i n which decisions are made in all fields of human development. Simultaneous ly, there has been a global review of progress made in moving towards healt h for all over the last 20 years. This paper highlights lessons learnt sinc e Alma Ata and indicates how telecommunications can address many challenges to health in innovative ways provided barriers to use are removed.