NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, August 17, 2015

Tanzania’s rapid uptake of mobile phones and massive investment in rural network coverage is helping disaster and humanitarian organisations in the country speedily disseminate and collect information.

The Tanzanian Communications Regulatory Authority says in its report for the first quarter 2015 that there are about 33 million mobile subscribers in the African country. Operators such as Vodacom Tanzania are investing large amounts of money in expanding mobile network coverage, especially in the country’s rural areas.

This is helping humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross Society carry out their activities speedily through utilisation of mobile platforms and open source software.

“Our young volunteers have really embraced this new approach. It’s made the process of collecting data much easier and quicker than using paper and pen,” said Kibari Ramadhan Tawakal, disaster management coordinator at Tanzania Red Cross Society.

The Tanzania Red Cross Society said on Monday that adoption of open source technology was helping it better understand and assist communities affected by disasters in the country.