Kenyan telco, Safaricom, is set to continue providing monthly communication service to close to 5500 front-line healthcare workers. The service enables them to call and access the internet for free.
The 5529 workers identified by the Ministry of Health will have access to 195TB of data, 10 million minutes for voice call and 33 million SMSs. Each worker is set to receive a free 128GB data, 600 minutes and 2000 SMSs for the next three months.
Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Rashid Aman, said, “Health workers are our first line of defense, and the continued support from Safaricom is a big boost to our containment efforts. More resources are required to enable the frontline teams safeguard the health of Kenyans, and we look forward to a continued partnership in the fight against Covid-19.”
Safaricom’s CEO, Peter Ndegwa, acknowledges the bravery of healthcare workers at the foremost line in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. He says that their dedication to serving the country has helped slow down infections in communities.
The telco giant has channeled close to KES 42 million (close to US$ 400,000) into providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to health workers across 17 countries through its philanthropic arms and The Safaricom Foundations.
Safaricom Chief Special Projects Officer, Joseph Ogutu (who is also the Chairperson, Safaricom Foundation), said, “Our aim is to keep the country going and we will continue working with the government and other partners to support the frontline teams.”
He added that the nation is behind the health workers as they continue playing a crucial role of managing the pandemic, and that Safaricom is honoured to play a part in ensuring they are protected.
In the same Spirit, Samsung Electronics East Africa donated 500 Samsung Galaxy A2 Core smartphones worth Sh3.8 million towards improving communication and to monitor and aid the movement of testing and care teams.
Director of Mobile, Samsung Electronics East Africa, Charles Kimari, said, “Our contribution of these smartphones to the Ministry of Health is designed to better equip the brave, frontline responders. It is to them we owe our thanks.”
Safaricom recently announced that it would be extending its support for digital learning programmes offered by its partners such as Eneza Education, Longhorn Publishers and others with the provision of education-specific free data bundles and a waiver of subscription fees for services like SMS shortcodes. 2 million learners across the country are set to benefit from the extension of the educational services.
