Telecoms Chamber to support Ghana Health Service prevent spread of COVID-19

The Telecoms Chamber says it has responded to a call by the Ghana Health Service for the use of its platforms to help prevent the spread in Ghana.

According to CEO of the Chamber, Ken Ashigbe, the action plan which will be under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications will be implemented in two phases after it is finalized by next week.

Ken Ashigbe spoke to Joybusiness on the sidelines of a book launch by MTN Ghana.

The book - Telephone Conversations by Ivor Agyemang-Duah looks at the economics of telecommunication in Ghana as part of the 20th anniversary of MTN in Ghana.

Mr Ashigbe said, “We have two phases and at this particular stage which we hope to continue when there will be no confirm case in Ghana, the Ministry of Health has reached out for some shortcodes so we will explore the possibilities of being able to offer some toll-free numbers and shortcodes that citizens could reach duty bearers.”

He added, “We are also going to use our networks to be able to send out the right information so that we can dispel a lot of rumours for Ghanaians to know what to do and we are reaching out to other telecom players in the other markets where the virus has occurred. For instance, we're talking to GSMA and the likes.”

The Chief Executive Officer of MTN, Selorm Adadevoh explaining the importance of the book noted that the journey of the network operator which is documented in the book will inspire readers and build the capacity of its customers.

"It highlights some of the challenges and key success of the company through our 20 years journey and we are glad to empower customers with it," Mr Adadevo said.