Unleashing information technology to defeat Covid-19
The goal is to reach everyone regardless of their connectivity level with important health messages.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) hope to reach billions of people who do not have access to internet through a new venture.
The campaign, which is supported by UNICEF, is aimed at supplying vital health messages via text messages.
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In a joint statement, WHO and the ITU said, now more than ever, technology must ensure that everyone can access the information they need.
The collaboration will start in the Asia Pacific region and will then be rolled out globally.
The goal is to reach everyone regardless of their connectivity level with important health messages.
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An estimated 3.6 billion people remain offline, with most people who are unconnected living in low-income countries, where an average of two out of every 10 people are online.
ITU and WHO have called on all telecommunication companies worldwide to join the initiative to help unleash the power of communication technology to save lives from Covid-19.
This initiative will build on current efforts undertaken by WHO and ITU.
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Covid-19 is the first pandemic in human history where technology and social media are being used on a large scale to keep people safe, productive and connected while being physically apart.
Health workers are utilising telemedicine to diagnose patients, and hospitals rely on being connected to coordinate and triage them.
Resilient and trustworthy telecommunication networks and services are essential, as more countries, companies and individuals turn to digital technologies to respond to and cope with the impact of Covid-19.
Building on their longstanding collaboration, ITU and WHO are committed to identifying and scaling best evidence-based digital health solutions and to leveraging frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to diagnose, contain and predict outbreaks better and faster.
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments.
As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed.
Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol.
A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za)
