By Eunice Hilda A. Mensah
Accra, Feb. 09, GNA – Vodafone Ghana, the Flowminder Foundation, and Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) have renewed the “Data for Good Partnership”, a public-private partnership and not-for-profit initiative, to support evidence-based decision-making for Ghanaians.
The project, which took roots in October 2017, received funding support from Vodafone Ghana Foundation.
A statement from Vodafone Ghana copied to the Ghana News Agency explained that signing of ‘Phase 2’ of the Agreement would enable the parties to enhance their collaboration in using pseudonymised and aggregated mobile operator data to estimate population distributions and trends of population movements across the country for development and humanitarian purposes.
The partnership, it said, also made it possible to transform the production of official statistics, through the secure analysis of anonymised and aggregated Call Detail Records (CDR), a set of data routinely and automatically collected by the network operator for billing purposes.
The collaboration, which is the first of its kind in Ghana, and one of the first in Africa, is aimed at taking advantage of technology to drive evidence-based planning in the areas of health, disaster management and traffic management, among others.
The partnership, the statement said, sought to increase utilisation and usability of CDR data, enhance capacity within the National Statistical System to support the integration of mobile operator data into official statistics, ensure continuous access to Call Detail Records data, and commitment to learning to enhance development planning nationally and across Africa.
Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the Government Statistician, referring to the essence of the innovation, said understanding changes in mobility patterns was important.
“The work conducted to date, including the production of various analyses to understand mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic, shows the power of mobile operator data analytics, and is a good example of how it can benefit anyone through its integration into our national statistical system,” he added.
Ms Cathy Riley, Strategic Partnerships Director of Flowminder Foundation, said the partnership would enhance the production of timely and relevant official statistics and indicators through the incorporation of aggregated, anonymised mobile phone data outputs into the National Statistical System.
The GSS, she said, would leverage those indicators to inform government operations, decision-making, and policy formation for the well-being of all and serve as a model of the approach to other countries in the sub-region.
Mrs Patricia Obo-Nai, the Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, said: “We are excited that this unique partnership is helping the Government of Ghana to estimate and monitor population movement for social good.
“The mobility insights from this project are indeed helping the country to better analyse and make predictions for the benefit of all, especially in health. While we are thrilled to have reached this point in our journey, we know that this is only the beginning! We are motivated by the abundant opportunities this initiative will bring to Ghana,” she added.
Vodafone Ghana is an operating company of Vodafone Group Plc – the world’s leading mobile telecommunications company. In Ghana, Vodafone is a leading total communications solutions provider, delivering services such as mobile data and voice; fixed voice and broadband, mobile financial services and a fibre backbone service for the West Africa sub-region.
Flowminder Foundation is a global leader in mobile operator data analytics for good. Using mobile operator, geospatial and survey data, Flowminder’s focus is on improving the well-being of vulnerable populations.
It provides information and capacity strengthening to governments, mobile network operators, national and international agencies and researchers in low- and middle-income countries for humanitarian and development purposes.
GNA