Zoscales has helped raise over USD 100k for the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) to purchase 4G-enabled tablets for the surveillance and contact tracing of COVID-19 cases
“We always ask ourselves what we can do in situations like this. Similar to our core work of investing, we try to find a value-add, and supporting the EPHI with technology and smart solutions was a value-add to their national COVID-19 response plan.”
Since it was first identified in the People’s Republic of China in January 2020, the COVID-19 virus has spread rapidly across the globe and caused an unprecedented shock to the global community. Healthcare systems around the globe are being put to the test and struggling to cope with the novel virus as the current pandemic poses a variety of new challenges to healthcare facilities and professionals. The challenges are even more pronounced in developing countries where healthcare systems are weak, equipped with poor infrastructure, and have limited resources.
In March 2020, the Government of Ethiopia initiated a prevention and mitigation plan to limit the spread and adverse impact of the virus on the Ethiopian society. A core pillar of the plan is surveillance, reporting and contact tracing of COVID-19 incidents in order to prevent widespread community transmission.
As indicated in the plan, one of the major challenges related to surveillance was a poor and unlinked surveillance reporting system from lower to higher level. An integrated surveillance system is key in delivering accurate and timely information so policy makers can act on it quickly and effectively. Therefore, Zoscales – along with other private sector players – helped raise more than USD 100k to donate 1,000 4g-enabled tablets to support the so-called Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) in their information exchange task by enabling an end-to-end automation of the COVID-19 surveillance system.
The donation was initiated by Zoscales and organized in collaboration with Minaye Group, Verdant Frontiers, Gateway Delta, 54 Capital, Fairfax Africa, BDO, Raxio, Roha Ventures, Tulu Moye Geothermal, Mesfine Tafesse & Associates, Grant Thornton and TRC.
As a token of this donation, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) organized a certificate award ceremony on 17 September 2020.
Managing Partner Ashenafi Alemu and Aschalew Abayneh, Deputy Director of EPHI at the certificate award ceremony, 17 September 2020.