Saving lives through consciousness, Somalia’s leading telecommunication, Hormuud, plays an important role in the fight against COVID-19
When the first case of COVID19 was discovered in Somalia in March 2020, there was a serious concern about the news, especially in a country where medical facilities are limited and existing facilities are severely under-resourced and poorly equipped.
As it puts people before profits, Somalia’s leading telecommunications company, Hormuud, had no choice but to take a key role in the fight against the pandemic by helping spread the word about the pandemic, and preventive measures were seen as critical to halting transmission of society. This was a critical task without leaving anyone, including the hard-to-reach areas, including internally displaced person centers. According to the Ministry of Health of the Federal Republic of Somalia, on March 29, 2021, there were 11,164 cases, 510 deaths and 4,759 patients recovering from the disease.
As part of the company’s social responsibility, Hormuud decided to give short messages to create public awareness and educate them about COVID19 and how they can save their lives and their loved ones. The possibility of short messages ensured that more than four million people received an educational message about COVID19 prevention that was crucial to the success of stopping the spread of the virus in the community. On top of this, Hormuud implemented his ringback voice service ‘Nasiye’ to raise awareness about the pandemic and preventive measures. Telecom decided to provide its platform free of charge as part of its efforts to limit the spread of the virus.
For Nasteha Abdi, a 22-year-old student living in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, Telecom’s awareness campaign played a crucial role in saving lives.
“My mother and father live in Galagaduud without access to television and radio; they only hear about this disease and its dangers. In the early days of the pandemic, they asked why the telephone became a radio, but now they are used to it, and they know everything about the disease, ”said Nasteha.
“When you make a call, you have all the concentration and you are eager to talk to someone, and that makes messages forwarded via Nasiye critical to the social consciousness,” she added.
This importance of public awareness and the role of Hormud has been the key to combating the pandemic.
“It was a very creative solution and the one who came up with it should be thanked. Imagine that every person in Somalia is obliged to listen to COVID19 prevention messages; that means the message has reached every Somali person,” Ali Nur Salad, CEO of Key Message and Media Expert, said.
“I am not aware of any other way that would have been more effective in terms of the reach and impact to be used in this publicity campaign. Some of us may have access to the internet, radio and television, but at least any person has access to a telephone and makes calls, and on top of this, the text messages have also been important in raising awareness, ”he explained
Leading the Telecom effort on this front is the CEO of the Horumuud Salaam Foundation, Abdullahi Osman noted that Horumuud is committed to this cause and sees the real value of using its pre-existing platforms to meaningfully help fight the pandemic and play a key role in societal awareness.
“As a business, we believe that no amount is worth a human soul, our duty to humanity is far greater, and while we are losing revenue in these difficult times, we are very determined to reach as many people as possible through public awareness. , “said Abdullahi.
“During the first wave of the pandemic, we knew that risk communication and community engagement were key, and we joined the effort led by the Federal Government’s Ministry of Health to help, as we as Somalia’s leading telecommunications had no choice but to provide our platforms to ensure that we can reach out to people with information to save their lives and the lives of loved ones. “
While Somalia is struggling with the COVID19 resurgence, Hormuud is still continuing its awareness-raising campaigns to raise public awareness of the pandemic and provide tips, including preventive measures. With the arrival of the first batch of COVAX vaccines in March and the roll-out of the vaccination program struggling with misinformation, the next phase will be, and without a doubt, public awareness will be central to this.
ENDS
