Mobile tech boosts aid workers' ability to help

Text messages, wireless internet and other forms of mobile technology are being used to help aid workers feed and care for people around the world, a new study has detailed.

Published by the Vodafone Group Foundation and the United Nations Foundation, the report showed that a quarter of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) believe mobile tech has revolutionised their projects, while another third said they would find it difficult to achieve their work without such innovations.

Some 86 per cent of those surveyed around the world said they use mobile technology in their work. They use such tech to take photos and video, collect or transfer data, or for messaging and communication. But as many as one in 10 are using it for more advanced needs, as well. They are analysing data in the field, managing inventory and mapping.

"The interesting thing about mobile is that this is a technology that is already being widely used and is widely understood," said Katrin Verclas, co-author of the report. "This is not a device that is foreign, unlike computers for a lot of people. They already understand the benefit. They've already swallowed that fact, gotten past that barrier."

The vast majority - some 95 per cent - of surveyed NGO workers said technology such as mobile phones, PDAs and wireless internet helps them save time, while 91 per cent said it helps them more quickly mobilise people to take action. Some three-quarters of NGO workers said they use mobile technology to get to people who were impossible to reach before, while another two-thirds praised the ability to quickly and accurately collect and transmit data.

With that in mind, it's no surprise that three-quarters said they wanted to increase their use of mobile technology in the future.

The tech is being used for a variety of NGO work in countries all over the world. The report detailed medical projects in South Africa, where health care workers monitor AIDS patients using mobile phones, and in Uganda, where staff use PDAs to get up-to-date medical information.

For disasters, text messaging is being used for early warning systems, and also to send food aid alerts to Iraqi refugees in Syria. Environmental charities use mobile phones to send out updates about campaigns and to alert people about air quality, for example.

For more information about how mobile technology is helping aid workers, watch this video from the UN Foundation:

For more information about the UN Foundation - or to donate - click here.

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