The initiative, operating under the hash tag ‘#AfricaAgainstEbola’, will use the 7979 dedicated platform to raise funds for the deployment of African health workers to affected countries.
To support the initiative, Airtel customers are encouraged to send ‘StopEbola’ as an SMS and as a single word to the short-code, 7979 at N100 (One Hundred Naira) per SMS. All monies realised from the SMS campaign will be donated totally to the AU Fund set up to kick Ebola out of Africa.
Thus far, Ebola has claimed over 9,637 lives across some parts of West Africa since it was first reported in Guinea in December 2013. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this is the largest outbreak on the continent, affecting mostly Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, said Airtel Nigeria is committed to the partnership with the African Union on the initiative as this is in sync with the company’s CSR strategy of touching and saving lives.
According to him, “as a major stakeholder with operations in 17 African countries, we are intensely interested in the communities and people we serve just as we are passionate about creating platforms to uplift the less privileged. This partnership with AU provides a fine opportunity for all of us at Airtel Nigeria to join in kicking Ebola out of Africa”.
Mr. Ogunsanya had also donated mobile phones, sim cards and airtime to all the 290 Nigerian doctors, nurses and other care-givers, who have volunteered to join the fight against Ebola.
He urged other private sector organizations to join the telecommunication operators in the effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against Ebola, which has brought grief to many families in West Africa.
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