This archive report was first published on 9 December 2019.
On December 9, 2019, Safaricom, the Ministry of Health, and Korea Telecom (KT) launched Safiri Smart, a disease and epidemic surveillance and awareness project via USSD, to help alert users of disease and epidemics via their mobile phones.
The initiative, part of Korea Telecom's Global Epidemic Prevention Project, aims to help the Ministry of Health prevent the transmission of infectious diseases such as Ebola from entering Kenya.
According to Stephen Chege, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Safaricom, 'This solution will see Safaricom subscribers who opt in to the service receive important information about any epidemics that have broken out at their travel destination, including prevention measures and symptoms.'
Users of the platform who travel to areas with ongoing epidemics will receive information as soon as they land in the affected country.
Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health, Sicily Kariuki, noted that 'Kenya is a major transport hub, and the risk of contracting a notifiable infectious disease cross-border is high. Mobile phones can be a great tool in promoting public health.'
Safaricom subscribers can access Safiri Smart by dialing 265# from their mobile phones.
Myung Gon Chung, Vice President of Sustainability Management Department at Korea Telecom, stated that 'Global telcos have a unique opportunity to help prevent contagious diseases from spreading by sharing crucial information with their subscribers at the right time and in the right format.'
The solution has already been rolled out in Ghana and Laos as a mobile application, enabling citizens of those countries to stay informed while visiting epidemic-prone areas and providing reports to health officials when an epidemic erupts.
