Airtel Kenya and the Kenya Red Cross Society have partnered to launch an emergency information service in Kenya. The service will offer disaster management information on disease outbreaks and other emergencies such as fires, floods and terrorist attacks.
The service will use a location-targeted SMS system called the Trilogy Emergency Relief Application (TERA). The service will send sms’s to Airtel customers in Kenya when emergencies or outbreaks occur. The messages will contain information on relief distribuand tions such as clean water, food and shelter, detailed advice on a range of issues such as hygiene, warnings on looming natural disasters.
Kenya becomes the second country in Africa to use the TERA technology. The technology was first used in Sierra Leone where International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) partnered with leading mobile operators to reach out to people during the Ebola crisis.