This archive report was first published on 5 August 2020.
August 5, 2020 - Safaricom has announced the extension of its communication support to frontline healthcare workers, providing them with essential resources to aid in the fight against COVID-19.
As part of the initiative, over 5,500 frontline healthcare workers will continue to receive monthly communication bundles, consisting of 12GB data, 600 minutes, and 2,000 SMSs, for an additional three months.
The initiative is valued at an equivalent of 195 Terabytes of data, 10 million voice call minutes, and 33 million SMSs, allocated to 5,529 frontline health workers identified by the Ministry of Health.
Additionally, Samsung Electronics East Africa has donated 500 Samsung Galaxy A2 Core smartphones worth KES 3.8 million to improve communication and aid the movement of testing and care teams.
“Health workers are our first line of defense, and the continued support from Safaricom is a big boost to our containment efforts,” said Dr. Rashid Abdi Aman, Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Health.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Safaricom has invested over KES 42 million towards providing personal protective equipment (PPEs) to health workers in 17 counties.
“The nation is behind the health workers as they continue playing a crucial role of managing the pandemic, and Safaricom is honored to play a part in ensuring they are protected,” said Joseph Ogutu, Chief Special Projects Officer, Safaricom and Chairperson, Safaricom Foundation.
“Samsung is committed to Kenya and we are fortunate as a company to be able to leverage the power of our innovative technology to respond to the core pillars designed to curb the spread of COVID-19,” said Charles Kimari, Director of Mobile, Samsung Electronics East Africa.
