The service, dubbed Safiri Smart, allows Safaricom subscribers receive information about any epidemic that has broken out at their travel destination including prevention, measures and symptoms/COURTESY
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 6 – Safaricom PLC has partnered with the Ministry of Health and Korea Telecom to launch a disease surveillance and awareness service that notifies users, especially travelers, of disease outbreaks locally and internationally for free.
Speaking during the launch, Safaricom’s Chief Corporate Affairs Steve Chege says, the service, dubbed Safiri Smart, allows Safaricom subscribers receive information about any epidemic that has broken out at their travel destination including prevention, measures and symptoms.
“Safaricom and Korea Telcom have no expertise when it comes to epidemics, but we do have the technology and the innovation; and when you bring in the know-how through the Ministry of Health, what you get is a partnership that can truly have an impact,” Chege said.
“Such partnerships that help keep our communities safe are crucial in our quest to fulfilling our vision of transforming lives,” he added.
Korea Telecom’s Sustainability Management Vice President Myung Gon Chung says global telcos have a unique opportunity to help prevent contagious doeseases from spreading by sharing crucial information with their subscribers at the right time.
“We are dedicated to championing these efforts as part of our commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” Chung added.
Currently, the service is accessible on Unstructure Supplementary Service Data, USSD, which Chege says is the easiest way to reach people.
Safaricom subscribers can access Safiri Smart by dialing *256# from their mobile phones.
Going forward, the company says it plans on adopting a downloadable app, which will have more features to the solution.
