MoH handed massive boost in Fight against Covid-19

By Oduor Jacktone

The Ministry of Health has received a boost in the fight against Covid-19 after Samsung handed smartphones to aid in Contact Tracing

With the daily reported cases of Covid-19 now nearing the 1000 mark the ministry of health has been grappling with contract tracing acknowledging that it has been a challenge

The move that will see Samsung, Safaricom and MoH join hands to facilitate the initiative

“In this unprecedented time, we at Samsung humbly believe we can overcome this pandemic together. We are encouraged by the great leadership shown by the Government in response to COVID-19 and managing the spread of the virus. We are glad to announce the donation of 500 Samsung Galaxy A2 Core smartphones to the Government of Kenya. The devices will improve communication as well as assist in monitoring the movement of testing and care resources,” said Seok Min Hong, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics East Africa.

In the deal Safaricom will provide voice, data and SMS bundles to enable the frontline teams communicate with ease.

Currently the government has been conducting contract tracing with the help of NIS through accessing patients’ phone data to trace their last movements, a procedure that is not feasible at large scale, besides being expensive.

“Samsung is committed to Kenya and we are fortunate as a company to be able to leverage the power of our innovative technology to respond to the core pillars designed to curb the spread of COVID-19. 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” added Hong.