Sierra Leone has launched a satellite link-up to connect doctors around the country to their colleagues in India. The system enables doctors in Sierra Leone to consult doctors in India and benefit from data analysis in better-equipped Indian hospitals. For now the telemedicine link-up has been launched in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown. But national hospital care manager Dr Thaim Kamara said the scheme will be extended to other provinces and rural areas in the future. The Indian government is funding the new system as part of a broader pan-African telemedicine plan. Sierra Leone’s healthcare system was seriously compromised during the 11-year-long civil war that ended in 2002 and caused many doctors to flee the country. Panos, London.