TELECOMMUNICATION companies in the country have partnered with the African Union (AU) Commission to support the fight against Ebola in West Africa.
According to a statement made available to this paper, the initiative, dubbed 'Africa Against Ebola' will use an SMS dedicated platform to raise funds for African health workers deployed in the affected countries.
Commenting on the initiative, African Union Chairman, Mr Yayi Boni said that AU is delighted to partner with the telecommunication companies and that the Ebola outbreak presents a major humanitarian crisis, a tragedy for those affected and their families and threatens to derail great economic strides.
"We cannot afford to look on and do nothing. We believe that with the support of the private sector we can collectively fight this disease that seeks to attack the very fabric of the African continent," Mr Boni said. Ebola has claimed over 5,000 lives across some parts of West Africa since it was first reported in Guinea in March, this year.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this is the largest outbreak on the continent and is currently prevalent in four countries - Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mali.
At a recent Business Roundtable on Ebola hosted by the AU, a campaign dubbed 'United against Ebola' was unveiled and will focus on donations from customers of the telecommunication companies, and the campaign, will span three months.
Speaking on Saturday in Dar es Salaam at a press conference, representatives from Tigo, Airtel, Zantel and Vodacom said the SMS fundraising campaign will use the short code 7,979 across all the four networks.
Customers are asked to text 'Stop Ebola' to this code in order to donate in their respective countries. "The campaign to stop Ebola in Africa is in line with our company commitment to making contributions to social courses that seek to avert suffering and promote the social and economic well-being of the people, not just in Tanzania but in other parts of Africa as well," the Tigo Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager, Ms Woinde Shisael, said.
Airtel, CSR Manager, Hawa Bayumi said that mobile technology is Africa's most powerful communications platform, providing an important channel for reaching large numbers of the population.
She said that as one of Africa's leading mobile operators, they will do everything we can to ensure that mobile technology tackles the spread of Ebola and that the partnership will enable their customers in the country and across Africa contribute towards fighting Ebola.
0 comments:
Post a Comment