Off to TED...

Yesterday our CEO, Eric Rasmussen and our CTO, Robert Kirkpatrick, headed off to the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference that promotes "ideas worth spreading" in Monterey, CA. Our team was invited to share what has come of the TED wish Larry Brilliant made two years ago that ultimately gave birth to InSTEDD. [Larry Brilliant included "TED" in our acronym as a nod to the conference.] Even though you (like me) will not be privy to this invite-only event, most of the amazing speeches will be posted online after the conference. I highly recommend listening to "Ted Talks" whenever you are in need of inspiration.

TED has brought together fields (tech, entertainment and design) with natural synergies. What are those natural synergies in the field of public health? I am not trying to make public health cool or glamorous; I am searching for those hooks of excitement and energy that bring people out of their silos and working together. What would attract people from animal, human and environmental health to work together (besides necessity)?

How can you make a difference in a country with over 600 NGOs?

That’s one of many questions we are grappling with as we travel through Cambodia from the capital Phnom Pehn to the remote Lao/Cambodia border. We are meeting with a range of organizations in our effort to understand the terrain and where we can share our expertise and experience in a useful manner.

As the community focal point for this project, I pay close attention to community-based initiatives. Working with the community is a theme common in many organizations we visited, and Cambodia has a number of village volunteers who serve multiple functions in support of government efforts. There are animal health volunteers, human health volunteers, malaria volunteers and HIV volunteers among others. It is impressive how many people give their own time to health-related issues.

Along with this fantastic cadre of village volunteers, however, come disease or sector specific infrastructure and reporting mechanisms. For those tracking outbreaks of disease, having many independent systems makes it very difficult to get a full picture and respond effectively. But this nut is tough to crack. Disease specific funding streams are partly driven by donors who want to see results in their area of concern. This silo approach is not only widespread here, but in affluent nations such as the United States. We are exploring ways technology might be able to build bridges and open communication.

Regardless of the professional challenges, Cambodia is a glorious place to be. I am writing this blog overlooking the majestic Mekong River which is so vast at times it resembles the sea. I plan to visit the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum because the present cannot be understood without an appreciation for the horrific past they have endured. We learned that only six doctors survived the Khmer Rouge regime, and we have had the great honor to meet two of these extraordinary individuals. I hope we can give something back to this nation (and others in the region) that have suffered so greatly.