IBM deploys fresh technologies against Ebola

As the human toll of the Ebola disease continues to climb up in critically affected West African nations, IBM has launched several initiatives to help curb the spread of the viral disease in the sub-region. This initiatives include a citizen engagement and analytics system in Sierra Leone that enables communities affected by Ebola to communicate their issues and concerns directly to the government; a donation of IBM Connections technology in Nigeria to reinforce government’s preparedness for future disease outbreaks, and a global platform for sharing Ebola-related data.

The efforts combine expertise from IBM’s global network of research labs with the company’s years of experience in humanitarian disaster response by applying mobile technology, data analytics and cloud computing to help governments and relief agencies as they seek to contain the deadly disease.

The work benefits from contributions of a number of partners including Nigeria’s federal and Lagos State authorities, Sierra Leone’s Open Government Initiative, Cambridge University’s Africa’s Voices project, Airtel and Kenya’s Echo Mobile. Nigeria has taken a leadership position in the fight against Ebola and has recently been declared free of the disease.

To support the country’s preparedness for future outbreaks, IBM has donated its Connections technology to Nigeria’s Lagos State Government. Nigeria’s Lagos State Government hosts an Ebola Operations Center that coordinates disease containment efforts on behalf of the Nigerian government and other organisation. IBM’s technology donation will help strengthen the coordination of public health emergency response teams and ensure that the Lagos State Government is able to manage and respond to any new reported cases of Ebola or future epidemics.

“Governments should constantly aim for proactive delivery of social services to citizens and by leveraging on technology, improved governance and better management of resources and assets can be achieved,” said Adebiyi Mabadeje, commissioner for Science and Technology in Lagos State. “IBM’s SmartCloud grant to the Lagos State Government is a unique contribution that will enhance our capacity to respond to and better manage emergencies with deeper insights and know-how.”

IBM’s Connections technology has a proven track record in humanitarian disaster response situations. It provides health workers and administrators with a reliable and secure digital platform to work together virtually and in person, enabling them to securely share documents, identify experts,

exchange video, chat and audio messages, provide updates, tap into information via mobile devices and hold virtual meetings. Storing information securely and conveniently in the digital cloud means that vital information can be accessed by authorised users anywhere.

IBM has previously provided similar technology in other crisis situations around the world to support collaboration and coordination amongst response agencies.

In 2010, SmartCloud supported a post-Haiti quake effort called Colleagues in Care, which helped doctors in Haiti learn from doctors in the US and elsewhere. The Chilean Red Cross used the platform to establish a disaster command center following the 2010 Chile earthquake. The platform was also used by agencies in the US following Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and for flooding recovery activities in Colorado in 2013.

IBM is broadly offering access to its IBM Connections cloud-based platform to all government agencies and non-governmental organisation working to stem the spread of Ebola.

Ben Uzor