The World Health Organisation (WHO) has embarked on a programme to upgrade and expand its information technology infrastructure at its Zimbabwean office.
The move follows the relocation of the WHO`s regional headquarters to this site from the Congo, in the wake of the escalation of the civil war in the African heartland.
Central to the upgrade is the installation of a new computer network supplied by 3Com sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and installed by local computer specialist, Rangemore Computers.
The network links the three WHO buildings in Harare and the organisation`s 450 employees. One of the buildings is remotely situated - some 10km distant from the other two - and is connected by a radio link.
The key motivators behind the new switched network infrastructure were the expansion of the existing systems to cater for additional staff, and performance enhancements to enable capacity (bandwidth) hungry applications to be run, such as e-mail and Internet access.
By facilitating the spread of information and ideas, the WHO says political systems in Africa can be strengthened and by expanding the reach of health, education, and other government services, the continent`s basic needs can be met more effectively.
Linda Richter, 3Com business manager for East Africa, is confident that the technology now exists within the WHO in Zimbabwe to achieve these goals in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Combining the intellectual capital of 3Com with that of a local networking specialist was essential to the success of the project," she says. "Rangemore Computers has an in-depth knowledge of the local environment and 3Com has the know-how to optimise it."
Rangemore MD Gil Rawson says the implementation was in line with many upgrades currently being undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Many countries in this region are adapting rapidly and skilfully to the new demands of the information age. More so than in many developing areas, the sub-continent is meeting the challenges it faces in terms of infrastructure development," she adds.
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