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Report

World Economic Forum-2030Vision Framework for Government Action Report

World Economic Forum’s Platform for Shaping the Future of Global Public Goods – released its 2030Vision report which covers critical conversations that need to manifest in governments to enable the use of technological advancements to support development towards achieving the Global Goals.

The report cited Sierra Leone’s hard-won gains in using science, technology and innovation to combat the COVID-19 pandemic with its National COVID-19 Response Centre (NaCOVERC). The Government of Sierra Leone developed its countrywide COVID‐19 Emergency Response which incorporated an ICT Response Pillar, consisting of public, private and global partners.


The pillar harnesses information technology and data to expand COVID‐19 interventions that inform and guide policy‐makers,  public health experts and citizens on infection prevention and control, when it is necessary to take certain measures such as lockdowns and curfews to mitigate the spread of the virus which is why Sierra Leone records low cases and deaths compared to other countries.

Blog

Sierra Leone launches Online Travel Portal to Manage Passenger Safety During the Pandemic

Travel.Gov.Sl is Sierra Leone’s official travel registration portal for passengers arriving at or departing from Freetown International Airport. The ICT Covid-19 Response PIllar manages the site which processes travel authorisation and assists the Surveillance Pillar with contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government of Sierra Leone has reopened its national airspace to commercial flights after air, land, and sea borders were closed on March 22, 2020. Public health and aviation officials agree that one key way to build traveler confidence and continue to flatten the coronavirus curve is with increased testing.

Sierra Leone’s travel protocols effective July 22, 2020, require all passengers to apply for a travel permit from Travel.Gov.Sl. To receive permission to travel in or out of the country, each passenger must provide the following: A negative COVID-19 PCR lab test result issued no longer than 72hours before departure, proof of payment for a COVID-19 PCR test in Sierra Leone, and a completed public health locator form. Children ages two years old and younger are exempt from testing. Travel.Gov.Sl is the one-stop-shop that will process all requirements and issue travel authorizations.

Travel.Gov.Sl is available 24/7. Passengers can register and pay for their tests online and through mobile money. They can order a regular or premium test, with the latter offering appointment flexibility.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak in Sierra Leone the Directorate of Science, Technology, and Innovation as the lead of the ICT Pillar of the National Covid-19 Emergency Response has worked with various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, Local ICT experts and development partners to deploy digital tools to improve the fight against the coronavirus. Fix Solutions, a technology company has played a leading role in the design and deployment of the travel web application. 


From drones for surveillance during lockdowns to an e-pass solution to ease travel restrictions, and a COVID-19 Self-Check SMS and USSD Mobile Application; DSTI continues to champion Sierra Leone’s commitment to national innovation.

Blog

Sierra Leone joins Africa’s tech nations to deploy drones for COVID-19 Response

Drones flew over the capital city of Freetown during a three-day lock-down in March as part of Sierra Leone’s COVID-19 Response. The Directorate of Science, Technology, and Innovation (DSTI) collaborated with a local drone company to capture images to understand citizen compliance in the Western Urban and Western Rural districts during the lock-down.

In West Africa, Sierra Leone has the sub-region’s only national government drone corridor which was launched in November 2019, by H.E. Julius Maada Bio in partnership with UNICEF, and Njala University. Since then, the nation’s first certified female drone pilot graduated from the Africa Data and Drone Academy’s (ADDA) drone certification program at Malawi University of Science and Technology, aerial drones have been used in medical deliveries, and now for COVID-19 emergency response activities.

Countries in Africa that have embraced innovation are integrating technological solutions in their COVID-19 Response. This week Rwanda used drones to spread public health awareness messages. In South Africa, Artificial Intelligence and drones are collecting data on citizen movement and lockdown measures. Similarly, in Tunisia, police robots equipped with AI capabilities are manning the streets as part of their compliance monitoring strategies.

Sierra Leone’s DSTI has the vision to use science, technology, and innovation to support government service delivery and strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem. DSTI is currently deploying its scientists and technologists to support the Government’s integrated COVID-19 Response.

Blog

Sierra Leone goes live with SMS and USSD COVID-19 self-assessment mobile services

Sierra Leone has recorded its tenth case of COVID-19, less than a week after it ended a 72-hour mandatory stay at home to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. During the three-day lockdown, a team of local computer scientists and data engineers from the public and private sectors collaborated to develop technological solutions to enhance the nation’s COVID-19 preparedness and response efforts. 

The COVID-19 emergency tech response team made up of experts from the Directorate of Science, Technology, and Innovation (DSTI), UNICEF, the Emergency Operations Center, Ministry of Information and Communication, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, other government agencies and private sector partners developed and incorporated COVID-19 public health information into the Government of Sierra Leone’s *468# (*GOV#) Public Information System. 

They expanded the existing *468# (*GOV#) Government Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform to allow citizens to conduct a self-check against their symptoms; learn prevention tips; and get updates on Sierra Leone’s COVID-19 situation, including the number of cases, deaths, and the quarantine status. A complimentary SMS mobile application that offers users the same functionalities was also developed. 

Today DSTI and its partners are announcing that the *468# (*GOV#) Government USSD platform and its accompanying 468 SMS Service have been activated to make it easier for citizens’ self-assessment of their coronavirus risk and to access accurate and correct information on COVID-19 on any mobile phone device.

Fix Solution is the lead private sector partner on USSD mobile service delivery. Their Chief Executive Officer, Sorieba Daffae, was one of the first private sector partners to sign up to the national tech response. 

Sorieba Daffae – CEO – Fix Solution SL

“What the crisis has shown us is that we are on our own. While we have some external support, this is the time to mobilize local expertise. I reached out to DSTI to volunteer towards the COVID-19 tech response to ensure that we could speed up the national effort by leveraging our local market knowledge. Our core competencies are specifically around technology solutions for public service delivery. With the USSD and SMS self-assessment tools, we’ve been able to collaborate with epidemiologists and DSTI to assist with the telecommunications integrations,” said Daffae. 

In November 2019, President Julius Maada Bio launched the National Innovation and Digitization Strategy (NIDS) and the USSD Portal to engage citizens and to improve government service delivery. A central principle in NIDS is the development of hybrid technologies that work for everyone. 

“We are collaborating with partners across government and the private sector to deliver Sierra Leone’s unified technological response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SMS and USSD systems work with or without the internet, meaning that we reduce barriers to citizens’  access to information,” said Michala Mackay, Director and Chief Operating Officer, DSTI.

“We have also seen an increase in fake news across social media, which is causing anxiety and fear. Citizens can now use the USSD portal to verify news and get the most up to date information on the national COVID-19 situation.” 

According to the 2018 Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey, two out of every three Sierra Leonean households (77%) have access to a mobile phone, meaning that SMS and USSD-based solutions will reach both citizens in the urban centers and rural communities. 

The USSD and SMS solutions offer flexibility to ensure that citizens have access to accurate information, whether or not they are using a smartphone. For now, the USSD code *468# and SMS to 468 are only available to users on Orange, and Africell. Even as the USSD and SMS solutions for COVID-19 go live, citizens are reminded to report any and all emergencies to 117 the national helpline.

Sierra Leone has started a two-week partial lockdown that limits travel between districts and a national daily curfew that starts from 9 pm-6 am. During this period, in addition to the COVID-19 services, citizens can use *468# to access information on government facilities and services within their districts including ‘find my nearest hospital’, and others. The COVID-19 tech response team will continue to develop technology for crisis response.


SMS USSD Activation Tools & Frequently Asked Questions

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