This archive report was first published on 9 June 2020.
On June 9, 2020, M-TIBA, a mobile phone healthcare provider, in collaboration with CarePay, PharmAccess, and Safaricom, launched a bulk SMS service to send targeted Covid-19 health information messages to Kenyans.
The system has successfully sent health and safety messages to over 627,000 families, leveraging the power of SMS as a direct, immediate, and integratable tool in the fight against Covid-19.
PharmAccess Foundation Country Director-Kenya, Isaiah Okoth, emphasized the importance of SMS in disseminating Covid-19 messages, stating, “SMS is a powerful tool in getting Covid-19 messages to Kenyans. It is direct, immediate and can be integrated with other platforms.”
Okoth further noted that the system has over four million registered users nationwide and is being made available to County Governments, with the Communications Authority of Kenya reporting over 53 million active mobile phone subscribers and a SIM penetration level of above 112 percent.
Additionally, M-TIBA and the Kenya Healthcare Federation (KHF) have rolled out an SMS platform to help security services verify the identity of essential health workers during lockdowns, with Okoth explaining, “A security officer can send a free SMS with an ID number to shortcode 20503. This will generate an instant SMS message verifying that the individual and – if applicable, the vehicle – are on official business.”
CarePay Board Chairman John Ngumi highlighted the role of mobile platforms and applications in the Covid-19 response, stating, “We know that mobile platforms and applications are playing a major role in our response to Covid-19. CarePay is working on projects to share targeted Covid-19 messages, as well as generating instant intelligence through surveys and identity verification shortcodes.”
Furthermore, CarePay Kenya Managing Director Moses Kuria emphasized the importance of data protection and privacy in SMS communications, stating, “Even though we are all in an extreme situation, SMS communications on COVID-19 still needs to be legal, proportional and compassionate. In a pandemic situation, we still need to be incredibly mindful of people’s concerns about data protection, privacy and over-communication.”
