Digital Software development helps fight COVID-19 in Africa Some African governments use digital Software platforms to launch COVID-19 information services and debunk misinformation. In South Africa, the national health department set up a
WhatsApp service to provide information to locals, from symptoms, prevention tips and testing information.
Importantly, the service also dispels false claims about cures, from eating garlic and beetroot to taking hot water baths and sensitizes to scammers looking to take advantage of people’s fears. In Nigeria, health authorities partnered with Facebook to send push notifications to users with information on symptoms and how to avoid infection, and with Twitter to elevate medical information from authoritative sources.
Other countries leverage mobile money to curb the spread of COVID-19. One fifth of African adults use mobile cash services. In Kenya, Safaricom, the country’s
largest telecom company, implemented a fee-waiver on East Africa’s leading mobile-money product, M-Pesa, to reduce the physical exchange of currency. The move followed the directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta to
“explore ways of deepening mobile money usage to reduce the risk of spreading the virus through the physical handling of cash”. Similar measures designed to reduce the risk of COVID-
19 transmission through mobile money were adopted in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. In Togo, the government digitized social payments to transfer mobile cash to informal workers whose incomes are disrupted by COVID-19.
In
addition, digital Software Agriculture lays the foundation for initiatives to alleviate the
COVID-19’s impact on food security. The recent
Africa’s Pulse report by the World Bank
Group found that COVID-19 is risking Africa’s food security due to trade disruptions, lower agricultural productions and fewer food imports. The progress made
in digital agriculture in Africa over the years can help secure essential farm operations, keep food supply chains moving, and reach vulnerable populations. In Kenya, FarmIT provides farmers with agronomic support, market linkages and an e-commerce solution. Africa’s leading
platforms such as Mkulima Young and G-Soko connect farmers to suppliers and distributors, and Zambia-based eMsika supports wholesale and retail trade in agricultural products.
According to Doing Business, a World Bank Group flagship publication, the widespread use of electronic systems is associated with more business-friendly regulations, a conduit for business creation and poverty reduction. This is especially important for
Sub-Saharan Africa as COVID-19 threatens to drive the region into its first recession in 25 years and push millions into extreme poverty. All 20 economies that topped the global ranking in
Doing Business 2020 have online business incorporation processes, electronic tax-filing platforms and online procedures related to property transfers. In contrast, only one out of 48 Sub-Saharan African countries has all these digital systems, partly because the continent is still catching up on its internet data access.
The world will increasingly rely on digital Software technology
to help us weather the COVID-19 storm. Digital Software platforms help build more resilient societies to the pandemic, as people can now access official information, enroll in e-courses, take online jobs, send mobile money
and even receive telemedicine, no matter where they live.
