Vodacom gifts 20,000 smartphones to health workers in South Africa. This is to assist their efforts in battling the spread of the coronavirus. The company will also distribute 10 million voice calls minutes and 100 terabytes of data to the National Department of Health. This will also help health workers transmit and collect data as soon as possible. It will also assist in resource planning purposes as the testing begins to rise.
“With this initiative, Vodacom will support the South African government’s objectives to reduce the spread of the coronavirus virus. It also helps in reducing the proposed curve and reducing the transmission rate,” says Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO.
“Achieving this will need much collaborative effort and we’re glad about Samsung Africa’s investment of 5000 smartphones into this initiative. Our firm will also be committed to doing whatever we can to help,” continues Joosub.
What is included in the smartphone
The smartphones will have 5GB of data loaded into it and also 500 voice minutes which can be used to facilitate the immediate transmission and collection of data. This information can be effectively transferred to the National Department of Health COVID-19 Information Centre for assistance. It was also revealed that Samsung Africa will cover the cost of 5,000 of the 20,000 devices.
The donation will also assist the Government by making sure medical care resources are effectively and efficiently distributed to assist those who require critical medical assistance.
“Samsung consciously increases the important role of technology in the fight against COVID-19. We realize that frontline health workers will require a secure smartphone. To allow quick communication and contact tracing to reduce the rate of infections in South Africa,” says Sung Yoon, CEO of Samsung Africa.
“Fighting this pandemic needs a strong collaboration between the private sector and the Government. And we are honored to contribute to this project with Vodacom. As a partner to South Africa, we are committed to assisting where we can and also acknowledge the Government’s efforts in fighting this virus”
More: Ghana Adopts Drone Technology To Speed Up COVID-19 Testing
