FY2014-2015
UNICEF and Airtel form Pan-African partnership to empower children and youth
UNICEF and Bharti Airtel, a leading telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, have entered a partnership agreement to expand their collaboration across 17 countries in Africa. The partnership aims at improving Africa’s population access to health and education-related information whilst pushing forward various innovative projects supported by UNICEF.
The agreement allows UNICEF to tap into Airtel’s mobile services to make health, education and youth-focused content available to Airtel customers across the 17 African countries. Through improved connectivity, more Africans will have free access to mobile applications and services developed by UNICEF, such as eduTrac, mTrac and U-report.
Speaking on the partnership, Christian de Faria, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa commented; “Airtel is committed to providing innovative solutions that overcome access and quality challenges around the delivery of services. Our partnership with UNICEF provides an opportunity to deploy mHealth innovations that can support healthcare systems and provide helpful education-related information.”
The partnership covers 17 countries in Africa – in Eastern and Southern Africa: Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia; and in West and Central Africa: Burkina Faso, Chad, DRC, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
“Access to information is a basic human right, and is fundamental to UNICEF’s innovation agenda,” said Sharad Sapara, Director of UNICEF’s Innovation Centre based in Nairobi. “Without access to information children and young people are stifled and cannot make the right decisions on matters concerning them. By improving connectivity, this partnership has the potential to empower millions of African children and youth with information and opportunities to help them become agents of change in their societies.”
Ends
About Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 312 million customers across its operations at the end of December 2014. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org
