Togo uses mobile technology to speed up Covid-19 vaccination
Throughout the pandemic, authorities have made use of mobile technology to conduct contact tracing, send money to the poor during lockdown and now for the rollout of the country’s vaccination programme.
CAPE TOWN, May 18 (ANA) – Togo is using mobile technology in its fight against Covid-19 and to ensure the most vulnerable are not left behind in its vaccination programme.
According to a report by the United Nations Africa Renewal magazine, to make access to Covid-19 vaccines easier, authorities in the West African country have made it possible for people to use their mobile phones to register for inoculation on a dedicated website.
Throughout the pandemic, authorities have made use of mobile technology to conduct contact tracing, send money to the poor during lockdown, and now for the vaccination rollout.
Togo received its first 156,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines on March 7, through coordinated support from the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund and COVAX, the facility set up to ensure equitable global access to the drugs.
The UN reported that within a week, the country vaccinated 98 percent of its health workers, the priority group identified in the national vaccination strategy.
Within two weeks, 19 percent of people aged over-50 years in the greater Lomé area, where 72 percent of all Covid-19 cases in Togo are, were also vaccinated.
By early April, more than 50,000 people had registered for vaccination through text messages on their phones and on the website.
To mitigate the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 on the poor, the Togolese government instituted the Novissi programme, supported by the World Bank and Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency), through eligible which beneficiaries received a mobile cash amount of approximately US$19 for men and $22 for women for three months.
From the onset of the pandemic, the use of mobile phones or web platforms has been at the centre of Togo’s response, according to the United Nations.
Last July, the government launched TogoSafe, a web portal and mobile app designed to facilitate contact tracing through digital geo-location, enable compliance with Covid-19 procedures by incoming and outgoing travellers, and to share test results through contact-less means, including email and phone text alerts.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
