UN ECONOMIC COMMISSION
of Africa partners with telcos
on COVID-19 Communication Platform
3RD QUARTER 2020
“This is the first time a mobile USSD platform has been interactively paired with big data AI to yield insights which neither alone could achieve,” UN Economic Commission of Africa.
SYNAPSE
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IN RESPONSE to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Economic Commission of Africa (ECA) has partnered with mobile network operators to provide a mobilebased public communications platform which will provide more than 600 million users across Africa with the latest public health advice. The platform’s mandate was jointly agreed on by the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, GSMA and the World Economic Forum in April (see this pdf). ECA said in a statement on its website in June that the Africa Communication and Information Platform (ACIP) will also provide national and regional COVID task forces with user generated survey data and actionable health and economic insights. By improving national data and statistics, ACIP will enable authorities to better analyse pandemic related problems and implement appropriate responses. The platform – which was launched on 23 June – will also allow COVID19 task forces to deploy health and economic resources to mitigate the pandemic’s impact. The free to use service was developed by the ECA in collaboration with four major mobile network operators including MTN – a technical partner on the initiative – and a data integrator. The other telcos taking part in the initiative include Airtel, Ethio Telecom, Orange, Vodafone, Vodacom, and Safaricom. ACIP harnesses mobile narrowband channels using a combination of text (USSD) and voice interactions (IVR). On the broadband side, the platform uses public data from digital channels, including online and social media. By using mobile narrowband and broadband, the platform can reach 3G/smartphone users and mobile subscribers with earlier generation 2G handsets, also known as feature phones. The rollout of Phase One, which started on 23 June, will
cover mobile users across more than 23 countries, representing more than 80% of Africa’s total mobile subscribers. Users will be able to access locally relevant health advisories and medical advice including a symptom checker. ECA explained that anonymised user inputs, including survey responses, will be fed to an artificial intelligence (AI) driven system. This integrator will build data dashboards and actionable insights for national and regional level policy makers. These may include identification of emerging virus hotspots and shifts in public sentiment (via survey data and social listening). The integrator can also provide smart alerts for anomalies detected by the AI. ECA pointed out that all information on the platform is for use at the national authority level and for national COVID task forces, as well as for ministries of health and finance. In addition, the commission added, national authorities will retain control over data provided by their own users and decide what information is made available to their national users. ECA said this is the first time a mobile USSD platform has been interactively paired with big data AI to yield insights which neither alone could achieve. Under Phase Two, which ECA said will be launched in a few month’s time, the service will encompass an additional 20 percent of African mobile users and expand to include economic and humanitarian-focused communication. National authorities will be able to conduct community level messaging for social welfare, including for example facilitate cash distribution (including e-payments); send targeted information on local food distribution or clean water provision. When data reveals emerging virus hotspots, authorities would be able to direct medical resources to the affected areas and alert local inhabitants to their availability. ai
