IT NEWS NIGERIA
* The project to support mass service delivery in healthcare, education and agriculture
Staff Writer:
Vodacom has partnered with Kaduna State in Nigeria to launch an ICT for development initiative, according to a statement from the company.
The company said the project will support mass service delivery in healthcare, education and agriculture through the deployment of tailored ICT solutions to promote greater efficiency in each sector.
Chief Officer of Vodacom Business, Vuyani Jarana is quoted as saying that “Vodacom is taking the lead in leveraging mobile technology to address healthcare, education and agricultural challenges in Africa. We see technology playing an increasing role as an enabler of economic development as governments on the continent are able to leapfrog developmental stages. Vodacom’s critical role through its partnership with Kaduna State is to help improve service delivery in the region, supporting healthy, well-educated and economically active citizens.”
Jarana says “Vodacom is experienced with readily available mobile technology capabilities used for increasing access to and improving delivery efficiency in health, education and agriculture services. We have successfully delivered such capabilities to the private and public sectors in East and Southern Africa in the last five years. These solutions are transforming the communication landscape on the African continent as key enablers for economic growth.”
The first, ‘SMS for Life 2.0’, is a mobile technology-based healthcare program in Kaduna State which aims to improve the delivery of healthcare for citizens who access public health services as well as increase the availability of chronic or essential medication by monitoring drug stock levels. Vodacom is the technology partner for the initiative, which is a public-private partnership with Novartis and the Kaduna State Ministry of Health. Vodacom has commenced with the training and deployment of SMS for Life 2.0 in Kaduna, with over 250 facilities using the platform to date. The initiative will be implemented in all thirty six states.
Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, welcomes the progressive evolution of the partnership with Vodacom. “The Kaduna State Government is delighted to apply technology to advance governance and the delivery of public services. Working with Vodacom, we seek to further enhance service delivery, improve data collection and strengthen accountability.”
Vodacom has also introduced a mobile school management solution in Kaduna State which provides real-time visibility of all management activities at schools. A school feeding programme module allows the State to monitor feeding programmes in schools to ensure that pupils on the programmes receive quality meals. The district office has access to real time reports on teacher and learner data through the application. The solution, which uses mobile phone and tablet technology, will be implemented in 4 000 schools across the State.
The next phase of Vodacom’s partnership with Kaduna State will focus on agriculture by launching Vodacom’s ‘Connected Farmer’ platform in Kaduna. Connected farmer is a cloud-based web and mobile solution which supports smallholder farmers’ registration and profiling. This enables them to be linked to financial institutions, agribusinesses, information, services and markets, all with an aim to increase their productivity.
