TIDMVOD
Vodafone Group Plc
26 February 2018
26 February 2018
VODAFONE FOUNDATION TO USE AGGREGATED ANONYMISED MOBILE DATA TO
HELP PREVENT SPREAD OF EPIDEMICS IN TRANSFORMATIVE 'BIG DATA FOR
GOOD' PROGRAMME
The Vodafone Foundation has today announced a pioneering
programme in Ghana to use aggregated anonymised data to help the
government track and control epidemics to prevent widespread
outbreaks.
The programme, one of the first of its kind in the world, will
use aggregated anonymised mobile data to track real-time trends in
population movement. The data is then analysed to provide
life-saving insights during a widespread epidemic - such as the
2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the most widespread outbreak of
the Ebola virus in history. The Vodafone Foundation programme is a
striking example of how big data can be used to gather valuable
insights, which the government of Ghana can apply to a number of
health and other sustainable development challenges, ultimately
saving and improving lives.
Government departments will be able to allocate resources more
efficiently and identify the areas at increased risk of new
outbreaks. The level of activity at each mobile phone mast can
provide a 'heat map' of where people are and how far they are
moving during an outbreak, while aggregated anonymised data can be
used for decision-making in a number of areas - including health,
agriculture, and transportation.
The programme, a first in Africa, will be funded by the Vodafone
Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, one of the
largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. They will
fund the work of a team of data scientists from not-for-profit
organisation Flowminder. Working closely with Ghana Statistical
Service (GSS) and Vodafone Ghana, Flowminder will collect,
aggregate, integrate and analyse anonymous mobile data, working in
line with Vodafone's global privacy principles, GSMA data
protection guidelines and Ghanaian data protection regulations. The
project, which will launch later this year, will ultimately help
save lives by providing detailed, up-to-date insights to the
government of Ghana. Mobile data will be used alongside
epidemiological data to help manage any future health
challenges.
Vodafone Group External Affairs Director Joakim Reiter, said:
"Mobile technology can enable access to large-scale aggregated
anonymised data about human behaviour and the ability to examine
the mobility of an entire population. As we can now measure human
mobility, it is possible to model how infections spread. This has
the potential to save thousands of lives."
For further information:
Vodafone Group
Media Relations
www.vodafone.com/media/contact
About Vodafone Foundation
The Vodafone Foundation's Connecting for Good programme combines
Vodafone's charitable giving and technology to make a difference in
the world. Globally, the Vodafone Foundation supports projects that
are focused on delivering public benefit through the use of mobile
technology across the areas of health, education and disaster
relief. The Vodafone Foundation invests in the communities in which
Vodafone operates and is at the centre of a network of global and
local social investment programmes. The Vodafone Foundation is a UK
registered charity, registered charity number 10989625.
About Flowminder and the WorldPop Program
Flowminder Foundation is a Swedish non-profit organisation with
offices in the UK and Switzerland. Flowminder's mission is to
improve public health and welfare in low- and middle-income
countries. Flowminder is a core partner of the WorldPop research
program, providing high-resolution data of global population
distributions and characteristics, freely available online.
Flowminder and the WorldPop Program works with governments,
inter-governmental organizations and NGOs. It collects, aggregates,
integrates and analyzes anonymous mobile operator data, satellite
and household survey data. Flowminder works with large datasets,
composed of billions of data points. Its analyses enable the
mapping of the distributions and characteristics of vulnerable
populations in low- and middle-income countries. Flowminder helps
save lives by providing analyses and decision support to all
relevant parties, based on the latest academic advances.
About the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a nonpartisan,
private charitable foundation that advances ideas and supports
institutions to promote a better world.
For 50 years, the Hewlett Foundation has supported efforts to
advance education for all, preserve the environment, improve lives
and livelihoods in developing countries, promote the health and
economic well-being of women, support vibrant performing arts,
strengthen Bay Area communities and make the philanthropy sector
more effective. The foundation was established in 1966 by engineer
and entrepreneur William R. Hewlett and his wife, Flora Lamson
Hewlett, with their eldest son, Walter Hewlett. Today, it is one of
the largest philanthropic institutions in the United States,
awarding roughly $400 million in grants in 2016 to organizations
across the globe to help people build better lives.
This programme is supported by the Hewlett Foundation's Evidence
Informed Policymaking strategy. The goal of this strategy is that
governments systematically use evidence to improve social and
economic policies over time.
About Ghana Statistical Service (GSS)
GSS leads the efficient production and management of quality
official statistics based on international standards, using
competent staff for evidence-based decision-making, in support of
national development.
In 1985, the Statistical Service Law (PNDC Law 135) established
the Statistical Service, which instrument had the effect of raising
the status of the Central Bureau of Statistics from a Government
Department under a Ministry to that of an autonomous, independent
public service.
The GSS coordinates the National Statistical System in Ghana and
is currently leading a drive to innovate around data for evidence
based decision making and monitoring the national and international
development frameworks such as the SDGs.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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