With
a passion and commitment to ensure that Ghana is free from the deadly
Ebola virus, Vodafone has stepped up its awareness creation mechanism to
focus on Education, Operational Response and Community Support.
Ebola
has claimed over 6,000 lives across West Africa since the first
casualty was recorded in Guinea in March, 2014. According to the World
Health Organisation (WHO), this is the largest outbreak on the continent
and is currently prevalent in four countries – Guinea, Liberia, Sierra
Leone and Mali.
In Ghana, Vodafone is using mobile technology and
innovation to ensure social and behavioural change in the fight against
the disease. Internally, the company initiated a campaign in August
2014 to educate and offer guidance on Ebola to its staff whiles a
well-coordinated plan has been put in place to engage external audiences
in the country.
Nana Yaa Ofori-Koree, Head of Vodafone Foundation and Sustainability said:
“The
education utilised internal communications channels, and face-to-face
sessions which were deployed to deliver relevant messages to the over
1400 employees in the country coupled with a two-minute documentary on
Ebola which was screened on plasma TVs in the offices, retail shops and
on the Vodafone Tube. Our internal radio station, RED FM, which is run
by staff, is also one of the channels we have used to drive the
company’s weekly messages to staff”.
Additionally, the telecoms
company has a platform that offers travel guidance and has visibility of
visitors who may have been to Ebola affected countries on a continuous
basis for monitoring purposes.
Throughout the course of this
year, Vodafone has put in place measures to help deal with any outbreak
internally including identifying hospitals designated and equipped to
handle Ebola in Ghana, as well as procuring hand sanitizer dispensers to
be distributed to the various offices across the country.
On the
external front, the telecoms giant has compiled a two-minute video clip
on the outbreak, which has been uploaded unto YouTube, Facebook and
other social media platforms and accessible on smartphones.
Nana
Yaa added, “We continue to educate Ghanaians about Ebola in various
local languages. Our medical call centre – Healthline 255 - on average
receives about 350 calls daily and this number has increased to about
900 following the advent of the outbreak in August. We are not resting
on our laurels until we are able to see tremendous improvement in the
fight against this canker”.
In partnership with the Ghana Medical
Association (GMA), Vodafone has introduced the Healthline Voice Message
service; a free voice service which offers weekly messages on Ebola to
Ghanaians. This is delivered in English and four other key local
languages.
Healthfest, a Vodafone Ghana Foundation’s annual
health initiative which offers free quality healthcare to communities
across the country, has also been active in educating Ghanaians in
various communities across the country, as part of concerted efforts to
dispel the many myths surrounding the disease in Ghana. Other avenues
including a Healthline app, have all been deployed in the drive.
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