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Nokia innovation for Zimbabwe NGOs
Jennifer Dube, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
May 29, 2011

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/entertainment/29950-nokia-innovation-for-zimbabwe-ngos.html

A non-governmental organisation working with the media and humanitarian organisations last week launched the Nokia Data Gathering (NDG) tool with the aim of encouraging fast dissemination of humanitarian information. On its website, Nokia defines NDG as a software system that enables data collection on mobile devices and the delivery of results for analysis in near real time.

Humanitarian Information Facility Centre (HIFC) programme officer Natasha Msonza said they were the first organisation to bring the technology to Zimbabwe, which replaces the traditional paper system.

HIFC in January 2011 partnered with the Community Working Group on Health and conducted a pilot study to test the applicability of the NDG tool locally. Msonza said improved internet connectivity in the country now made it possible for organisations to transmit data from remote locations straight to a pre-existing database faster compared to most methods currently being used by many organisations.

In most cases, humanitarian officers have to shuttle between the field and city offices to communicate data about various situations affecting people in areas they serve.

Msonza said the telephony tool was also user-friendly and most of the field officers dispatched in the five districts where the pilot study was conducted said they preferred it over paper-based methods.

The NDG tool has been successfully used to communicate emergencies in Brazil among other countries.

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