Today Smart Mobile and InSTEDD announced they have signed an agreement on launching during 2010 a set of innovative services for public health based on Smart Mobile’s wireless network and InSTEDD’s collaboration platform.
The launch is targeted to help the Ministry of Health using mobile phones nationwide to detect disease outbreaks earlier and react in faster and more efficient ways when they appear.
In this regard Mr. Thomas Hundt, CEO of Latelz Co. Ltd. (Smart Mobile) said “Smart Mobile is one of the most advanced mobile operators in Cambodia. With our continuous coverage expansion we have been increasing our presence in provinces and became meanwhile one of the most popular brands nationwide. Smart Mobile is also contributing to the fast development of Cambodia through its Social Responsibility projects. By implementing InSTEDD’s project, we make one more step to improve the society by supporting a more effective health and public safety system for Cambodia.”
InSTEDD is a non-profit organization whose mission is to harness the power of technology to improve collaboration for global health and humanitarian action. It was founded and originally funded by Google, and works internationally, with its largest projects currently in SE Asia, a hotbed for disease outbreaks that can spread worldwide.
"Thank you Smart Mobile for providing this exceptional support to GeoChat. And thank you InSTEDD and Google for supporting the work of the Ministry of Health so well. “Said Dr. Sok Touch, Director of Communicable Disease Control Department, Ministry of Health, of the Kingdom of Cambodia. " This public-private partnership will expand the use of InSTEDD's GeoChat within the public health realm in Cambodia and the larger region, improving our capacity to detect health threats and respond effectively. The introduction of GeoChat throughout the nation also helps make the work of government a two-way dialogue with the community rather than a monologue. Now our work together can have a broader impact on the health and safety of all Cambodians."
The agreement allows Cambodians using Smart Mobile network to take advantage of InSTEDD’s systems with free SMS queries. This will not only benefit the Ministry of Health, but also the wide network of collaborators that participate in the early detection and response of an outbreak. "Having instant communications among public health officials is critical to responding to infectious disease outbreaks in a timely and effective manner," said Dr. Mark Smolinski who heads Google's philanthropic efforts in SE Asia. "The leadership exhibited by Smart Mobile, in partnership with InSTEDD, is a giant step forward in providing affordable options to the Ministry of Health and other government partners in Cambodia. With Smart Mobile's contribution of a free, dedicated phone number for public health emergency communications along with other cost-saving commitments, they are creating a real-time alert and rapid response network that will save lives."
GeoChat is a simple application that can be used for setting up group chats, allow reports of information from the field and sending targeted alerts. It works over the Web, Twitter and SMS–text messages. InSTEDD has a lab in Cambodia that does local design, implementation and support of web and mobile collaboration technologies for public health and times of crisis. Training and building technologies locally makes sure the special needs of each region are understood and the outcome is more sustainable. InSTEDD’s lab and other partners in the region are already extending GeoChat for specific humanitarian or public health use cases. For example, a new system incorporating GeoChat is being deployed in Thailand provinces to track the spread of influenza-like illnesses.
This is the first time in Cambodia a deployment of this kind has happened and sets a precedent for how local communication providers can partner to bring to scale successful mobile solutions with a social impact and with a view to long-term sustainability. With Smart Mobile's support of GeoChat, new applications for health can be deployed country-wide without requiring additional infrastructure. "Within just the past weeks, four other nations in Southeast Asia have requested deployments of InSTEDD's GeoChat. Along with Smart Mobile, InSTEDD looks to bring the best of technology to those who help to make local communities stronger, safer, and healthier."
Learn more about InSTEDD's work in Cambodia and South East Asia http://www.instedd.org/mcp
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