KT launches epidemic prevention platform in Kenya

KT will establish a platform to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases across the African continent, in partnership with the Kenyan government, the South Korean mobile carrier said Wednesday.

The company broke ground for the Global Epidemic Prevention Platform that will serve as a center for collecting and analyzing data on contagious diseases in traveling areas and particularly critical regions, sent by Kenya’s No. 1 carrier Safaricom.

A ceremony was held to mark the occasion at Safaricom’s headquarters in Nairobi, attended by officials from Kenya’s health and ICT ministries.

Safaricom will send messages containing analyzed information on the diseases to its global mobile users traveling in Kenya and nearby countries.

“Considering that Safaricom owns over 70 percent of the Kenyan mobile market, such efforts are expected to produce tangible outcomes in preventing the transmission of diseases,” said a company official.

From January to November this year, 225 out of 450 people have died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country bordering Kenya. Due to its geographical and economic conditions, Kenya is a country vulnerable to such epidemics.

“We expect the platform to work consistently and effectively with the support of the Kenyan government, and hope it serves as a good precedent of a joint project between the government and businesses,” said Yoon Hye-jung, senior vice president at KT.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)